Physical Health Conditions and Political Participation: The Moderating Effect of Age

Political participation - a key characteristic of democratic representation - is affected by factors unequally distributed across society. First, evidence shows that, in general, citizens with fewer resources report lower levels of participation and, among these resources, lack of good health has been shown to hinder participation. Second, poor health itself may also have a differential impact on participation, depending on the type of the health issue. For example, poor self-rated health is associated with lower turnout, but some health conditions, such as cancer and asthma correlate positively with turnout. Third, poor health may decrease some types of participation but increase others. Finally, there is a lack of studies on whether the relationship between health and political participation is moderated by age. Some evidence suggests that poor health influences turnout particularly among older people, but in general, studies focusing on the participation health-gap in different stages of individuals’ lives are lacking. We address these gaps in the literature by using European Social Survey data with specific information on various types of physical health conditions facing the respondents and the specific types of political participation they engage in. The results show that most physical health conditions are related to political participation but, except for turnout, physical health problems actually mobilize individuals into action. This effect is strongest among younger individuals, and the health gap in participation evens out in later life. Furthermore, the condition-specific effects are, by and large, similar among different forms of physical health conditions. On a more general level, our results support the grievance theory of political participation. It is especially the younger citizens who experience poor health or physical impairments as unjust, which then mobilizes them into political action.