COVID-19 stressors, mental/emotional distress and political support

Abstract

The effects of COVID-19 on democracy and mental health are still under investigation. In this article, it is considered that, on average, higher COVID-19 stressors and symptoms of distress are associated with lower political support and that higher COVID-19 stressors are associated with higher symptoms of mental/emotional distress. This formulation was tested by conducting two online surveys in Britain in August 2020 and March 2021. Strong support was found for this hypothesis. Greater worry about COVID-19 life changes is associated with a lower evaluation of government performance on the pandemic and with a lower perceived responsiveness of the political system; higher COVID-19 stress resulting from anti-pandemic measures is associated with a poorer evaluation of government performance and, subsequently, with less trust in government. It was also found that higher COVID-19 worry and stress were associated with more symptoms of mental/emotional distress. These findings highlight that pandemic-related stressors may influence people’s political engagement and mental health.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• democracy
• depression
• anxiety
• stress

Acknowledgments

We thank the participants in our panels at the 2021 annual meetings of the American Political Science Association, the European Consortium for Political Research and the International Society of Political Psychology for their reactions to and feedback about this research. We thank YouGov for assistance on the survey data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by a British Academy Special Research Grant on a project on ‘The Consequences of Covid-19 on Mental Health and Political Attitudes’ (COV19\200709).

Notes on contributors

Luca Bernardi

Luca Bernardi is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics at the University of Liverpool. He studies mass-elite linkages, how psychological factors and mental health problems relate to political engagement, and how stressors, including politics, may influence people’s mental health. He has published in leading journals in political science and political psychology. [[email protected]]

Ian H. Gotlib

Ian H. Gotlib is Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. In his research, he examines psychobiological factors that place children, adolescents and adults at risk of developing depression and engaging in suicidal behaviours, as well as processes that are protective in this context. He has published in leading psychology and neuroscience journals. [[email protected]]