Democracy and Depression: A Cross-National Study of Depressive Symptoms and Nonparticipation
| Autor: | Claudia Landwehr, Christopher Ojeda |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Sociology and Political Science
030503 health policy & services media_common.quotation_subject Energy (esotericism) 05 social sciences Affect (psychology) Mental health Democracy 0506 political science Test (assessment) 03 medical and health sciences Politics Voting Political Science and International Relations 050602 political science & public administration 0305 other medical science Psychology Depression (differential diagnoses) media_common Clinical psychology |
| Zdroj: | American Political Science Review. 115:323-330 |
| ISSN: | 1537-5943 0003-0554 |
| Popis: | Depression is the most common mental health disorder. It has consequences not only on individuals but also on social and political levels. We argue that depressive symptoms impair political participation by reducing the motivation and physical energy of sufferers. We test our hypotheses by conducting regression analyses of four nationally representative cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys that collectively span many democracies. Our results are threefold. First, we find that the severest depressive symptoms lower the probability of voting by 0.05–0.25 points, an effect that is exceeded only by education and age. Second, we show that depressive symptoms negatively affect political interest and internal efficacy, thereby confirming that they diminish political motivation. Third, we find that depressive symptoms most strongly affect physically demanding acts, thereby confirming that they reduce the physical energy required for participation. We conclude by urging scholars to take depressive symptoms seriously in the study of political behavior. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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