Decades of research have shown that political conservatives report better mental health and greater happiness than their counterparts on the left. A new study published in the journal Political Behavior takes that finding a step further, finding that "mental illness is emerging as its own political identity and is most heavily aligned with leftist political ideology and causes," and that it clusters heavily among younger, far-left Americans.

Shocking, I know.

Columbia University's magazine noted back in 2023 that "American adults who identify as politically liberal have long reported lower levels of happiness and psychological well-being than conservatives." However, researchers spent years scratching their heads over why. Scholars from the Universities of Florida and Toronto eventually took a crack at it, drawing on four separate studies. Their conclusion? Conservatives tend to have greater personal agency, religiosity, moral clarity, a positive outlook, and stronger self-worth... which are traits consistently linked to resilience and mental health. In other words, having a sense of purpose and taking responsibility for your life is good for you. Who knew?

Professor Lauren Van De Hey of Utah State University has conducted research that connects the mental health gap directly to political identity formation. Her findings were drawn from the 2022 Cooperative Election Study, a large, nationally representative survey administered by YouGov.

"I further find that there is an emerging mental health political identity that is most pronounced among younger (Gen Z) and more liberal Americans," Van De Hey said.

Roughly half of the study participants who identified as having a mental illness said that identity was very important or somewhat important to them personally. Yeah, that's a voting bloc in the making.

Van De Hey also found that mental health identity operates differently in politics than physical disability or serious physical illness. "I find that the political predictors and political consequences for the emerging mental health identity differ from those for physical disability and serious physical illness categorization and identification," she said. The implication is clear: mental health struggles, increasingly worn as badges of identity, carry huge political weight.

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The study also found that conservatives are less likely than liberals to categorize anxiety and depression as mental health conditions and report seeking treatment at lower rates. Van De Hey attributes this to a "personal responsibility ethos: they do not seek help when they think they can resolve the issues on their own." The left will frame that as denial. Conservatives will frame it as actually handling your problems. You can decide which sounds healthier... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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