Psychische Gesundheit entwickelt sich zu einer Quelle politischer Identität, insbesondere bei jüngeren (Gen Z) und liberaleren Amerikanern. Sie glauben, dass Menschen mit psychischen Erkrankungen zusammenarbeiten sollten, um Gesetze zu ändern, die ihnen gegenüber unfair sind, und tendieren dazu, höhere Gesundheits-, Bildungs- und Sozialausgaben zu unterstützen.
Mental health might be emerging as a source of political identity, study finds
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**Mental health might be emerging as a source of political identity, study finds**
An analysis of the 2022 Cooperative Election Study data found that mental health is emerging as a source of political identity, particularly among younger (Gen Z) and more liberal Americans. These individuals believe that people with mental illness should work together to change laws unfair to them and tend to support increased healthcare, education, and welfare spending. The research was published in [*Political Behavior*](https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-025-10118-3).
Recent years have seen several cases where U.S. politicians publicly acknowledged that they are dealing with mental health issues. For example, in 2022, Democrat John Fetterman won Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seat. Two months later, he checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to undergo inpatient treatment for clinical depression, a condition he had been struggling with for years.
People with self-reported mental illness were more frequent among liberal than among conservative individuals. Among very liberal participants, 39% declared that they had a mental illness in their lifetime. This percentage was only 16% among very conservative participants. Individuals with a stronger mental illness identity were less likely to be conservative and more likely to be liberal. This identity was also more pronounced among younger (Gen Z) Americans.
“I find that people who have experienced mental illness feel close to others who have experienced mental illness. They are also likely to self-categorize as having or having had a mental illness, share a sense of group consciousness with others who have or had mental illness, and recognize the need to work together to change laws that are unfair to people with mental illness,” the study author concluded. “These findings have far-reaching consequences for mental health advocacy and the role mental health identity will play in the political sphere—especially as Gen Z matures as a cohort.”
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11109-025-10118-3
Based on the title alone it seems like the rest of the world is actually crazy and those of us with MH issues have them because the world is perverted and wrong, as we lack decent HEALTHCARE, EDUCATION AND WELFARE PROGRAMS!
I feel like this is obvious. Mental health treatment was gutted by Reagan and these younger generations are seeing, and feeling, the fallout. They see what their parents have gone through. We are truly lucky to be born in the USA and it’s ok to be upset and want to change the situation. We know such legislation and money for the cause is possible, yet we see the quality of life go down for everyone except the wealthy. I fear it’s going to get worse. I suppose the positive aspect is that more people are comfortable talking about mental health, but maybe that’s because so many people are now more anxious and depressed more than ever.
*My MIL is a retired psychiatric nurse and she will still rail against Reagan. Almost 50 years later and she is still so angry about what he did to our healthcare system.
This makes sense, since Conservatives don’t believe in mental health
So the inmates running the asylum?
This is one of the reasons I’m jealous of religious people from a psychological perspective.
My mom has had a hard life but always seemed to be able to process everything as „God’s plan.“ She’s always so excited about everyday life in a way that other people simply aren’t.
My dad meanwhile is one of those kids that’s forced to go to church so he goes through the motions but doesn’t believe in anything. And he’s gone to therapy many times because he can’t accept hardships as „God’s plan.“
Religion is truly is the opium of the masses. And it’s hard to find a better high.
Please be true and please continue to grow. I have so little faith in my peers and elders. Sincerely, an older fella.
So, liberals, aka people who vote Democrat. This isn’t a new political identity. One party has been supporting all those things while Republicans try to take the support away. It’s been this way for 40+ years.
We weren’t allowed mental health when I was young — we had to make do with sanity.
sounds less like an „identity“ and more like a voting block?
The internet allowed toasterbangers to meet other toasterbangers
A lot of poor mental health I believe is a result of the society we have built. Meds are bandaids and the real solution is sweeping reform that gives young people hope for their future.
Ours brains, bodies, eyes and teeth cannot and do not exist without interdependence, they are all interlinked.
Yet the “health insurance” we have in the U.S. treats them all separately and many companies have made hundreds of millions if not billions “treating” them.
This is ridiculous.
Capitalism is destroying us all.
Socialized medicine now.
People who are suffering and struggling (and others) better unite to fight the system itself instead of striving to make the system better accommodate suffering just so that the next generations might suffer in ‚peace‘
More like young people are obsessed with labeling themselves so that they can „prove“ to their peers that they are a-ok (when it comes to acceptance). These labels are who they are to such a degree that they are the only lens through which they view the world.
Very few people are aware of the rules and laws and administrative hurdles for people with psychiatric disabilities. It’s an entirely different ballgame – and many disability protections do not extend to this population. I have written extensively on this issue – but will not dox myself.
Biased writing and horrible contextualization of the results, also it’s based on a self-reporting in an online survey of just 880 people. This is junk science that people are just using to affirm their preconceptions and prejudices.
I am a disabled veteran. I was explaining to someone yesterday, if people ONLY have SSDI to rely on, they cannot remotely have a high quality of life. The average SSDI payment is only $1600/month. Why can’t we double that? Let’s give our disabled people a way of being able to live, not just barely survive. This shouldn’t be a left/right issue.
I’m just gonna say it. The recent trend of people self-diagnosing themselves is ridiculous. When kids just start saying they have xyz mental health issue, without having been formally diagnosed by a professional, it tarnishes the field as a whole. Way to turn a legitimate field of study into astrology.
Mental health is all well and good until nothing gets done because you’re trying to analyze every little thing in your life. You don’t have to know the why for every feeling you’ve ever felt.
Pretty pathetic stuff here
Well yeah. Lets be honest, the GOP has weaponized untreated mental illness
What people should do (if they’re responsible) is not see their mental health as an identity and try and enact practical solutions to manage it.
until its schizophrenia. schizophrenia is always left out of the conversation. the people who need the visibility the most are mocked, triggered on purpose and treated like lepers. stigma is a powerful thing.
Started with Ronald Reagan (look it up) and has gotten worse since (one income could support a family now 4 jobs 2 parents barely ‚cuts it‘ depending on where ya are tho IKIK), all these things were in place until him (why do you think the greedy call him Saint Reagan) – pre Reagan is a good place to go back to tbh
Most people can’t afford a secure, comfortable life and it’s getting worse every day. The future is bleak and Gen Z is right to feel melancholy. Between AI slashing jobs and the government being captured by the wealthy, we are seemingly completely fucked. If millenials and Gen Z can’t reverse the course Boomers put us on, it’s a wrap for the USA.
I do associate extremism with mental health illness. Liberals and conservatives at the fringe are riddled with mentally ill.people. just look at your local pink/green haired protest group.
There is definitely a lot of evidence that social conditions drive a ton of mental health issues. Stuff like income inequality, housing insecurity, climate anxiety and social isolation are all linked to higher rates of depression and anxiety in the data. Meds can help individuals function day to day, but yeah, public policy that reduces stressors upstream is the real “treat the cause not the symptom” move.