Is politics a risk factor for mental distress? The consequences of affective polarisation on mental health and wellbeing

Research on mental health and political behaviour has mostly explored whether and how mental health conditions influence the way we engage in politics. However, the implications of politics as a stress factor for mental health and wellbeing still require scientific inquiry. We start addressing this issue by focusing on affective polarisation as a political stressor. Research on affective polarisation has primarily focused on discovering the causes of the phenomenon while its consequences remain by and large unknown. In this paper, we ask whether affective polarisation has a negative impact on people’s mental health and wellbeing. We answer this question by analysing data from four different panel studies from the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United States and Britain which include alternative measures of mental distress and wellbeing. Our research contributes to our understanding of the effects of politics as a stress and risk factor for mental health and may help us better understand why people in poor mental health tend to participate less in politics.