REPORT | Left in the Lurch: Exploring the Mental Health Divide Between Liberals and Conservatives

Summary

The differences in mental health ratings between liberals and conservatives. Key findings include:

1. **Overall Mental Health Ratings**: Conservatives report significantly higher mental health scores than liberals, averaging about 13 points higher. However, both groups generally rate their mental health positively.

2. **Influencing Factors**: The disparity may arise from demographic differences; conservatives tend to be older, more religious, and married—all factors linked to better mental well-being.

3. **Regression Analysis**: When controlling for these factors, an 8-point difference remains between the two groups. This suggests possible inherent benefits of a conservative worldview, such as a sense of personal agency, or that conservatives may perceive issues in a way that lessens their stress.

4. **Significance of the Gap**: While an 8-point gap is statistically significant, it represents less than a third of the spectrum between “good” and “very good” mental health ratings.

5. **Response to Life Events**: Both liberals and conservatives respond similarly to stressors, but conservatives may experience greater emotional impact from adverse events like divorce or job loss.

The article concludes that while the narrative that “conservatives are happier” exists, the reality is more nuanced, and both groups face similar challenges regarding mental health.

Introduction

The intersection of political ideology and mental health has sparked considerable debate in recent years, with numerous studies suggesting that individuals identifying as liberals report higher rates of mental illness, lower happiness, and poorer psychological well-being compared to conservatives. This pattern emerges consistently across large-scale surveys and longitudinal data, often attributed to factors like personality differences, societal stressors, and demographic trends. However, emerging research challenges these findings, proposing that biases in self-reporting—such as stigma around mental health terminology and cultural attitudes—may inflate or even fabricate the gap. This report synthesizes key studies, examining evidence for the disparity, potential explanations, counterarguments, and trends over time, drawing on peer-reviewed analyses and national surveys to provide a balanced overview.

Evidence of Higher Mental Illness Rates Among Liberals

Multiple large-scale surveys reveal a persistent ideological gap in self-reported mental health. For instance, analysis of the General Social Survey (GSS) data from 1972 to 2018 found that left-wing ideology correlates with higher rates of mental illness across five indicators, including emotional or mental disabilities, days of poor mental health, and history of treatment. Extreme liberals exhibited a 150% higher rate of mental illness compared to moderates, with a moderate effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.39) between extreme liberals and extreme conservatives on the most robust measure (days of poor mental health, n=11,338). This association held after adjusting for age, sex, and race, and remained consistent across decades.Similarly, the 2022 Cooperative Election Study (CES), involving 60,000 respondents, showed conservatives rating their mental health 19 points higher than liberals on a 0-100 scale (conservatives: 68; liberals: 53). Among those reporting “excellent” mental health, conservatives outnumbered liberals 51-20, while liberals predominated 45-19 for “poor” ratings. The 2022 American Family Survey echoed this, with liberals 19 percentage points less likely to be “completely satisfied” with their mental health than conservatives, a disparity most pronounced among liberal women aged 18-55 (15% vs. 35% for conservative women). In youth populations, the gap is widening. A study of over 86,000 U.S. twelfth graders from 2005-2018 found depression rates rising fastest among liberal adolescents, particularly low-income liberal girls, potentially linked to political events like the Trump presidency. Broader trends from the Monitoring the Future survey (1975-2022) indicate steeper increases in psychological distress, depression, and self-injury among liberals, with ideological gaps reaching 9 points by 2022 among high school seniors.

Explanations for the Gap: Personality, Health, and Societal Factors

Several theories link ideology to mental health through inherent traits and life experiences. Big Five personality research shows liberals scoring higher in neuroticism (negative emotionality) and openness to experience, but lower in conscientiousness, compared to conservatives. Neuroticism, strongly tied to poorer mental health, correlates more with economic liberalism (e.g., support for welfare), possibly due to heightened sympathy for inequality or self-interest in social safety nets. Conscientiousness, linked to better impulse control, may buffer conservatives against distress.Longitudinal data suggests causation flows from health to ideology. A national cohort study found excellent childhood health (under age 10) predicting conservative ideology in adulthood (over 64), with a 16 percentage point higher likelihood of conservatism and 13 points lower for liberalism, independent of adolescent/adult health, personality, and socioeconomic factors. Cross-lagged models from Monitoring the Future data indicate psychological distress in early adulthood predicts shifts toward liberalism later, especially among females, rather than ideology causing distress. Societal stressors also play a role. Liberals engage more with content on injustice, discrimination, and climate change, amplifying vulnerability—particularly for those with traits like high agreeableness and justice sensitivity. The “Great Awokening” since 2013, marked by surges in social justice discourse, coincides with widened gaps, suggesting cultural polarization exacerbates liberal distress. Demographics compound this: liberals are often younger, less religious, unmarried, and from marginalized groups, all associated with poorer mental health.

Counterarguments: Stigma, Bias, and Measurement Issues

Not all research supports a genuine gap; some attribute it to artifacts in self-reporting. A 2022 CES analysis found the 19-point ideological difference reduces by 40% (to 11 points) after controlling for age, income, marriage, church attendance, and life events, but persists. However, a 2023 CES experiment revealed that rephrasing from “mental health” to “overall mood” eliminates the gap entirely, with conservatives and liberals rating mood similarly (~61/100). Conservatives’ highly positive mental health ratings drop from 64% to 49% with the mood phrasing, suggesting stigma inflates their scores—they may view “mental health” as politicized or a weakness, leading to over-optimistic reports.This stigma is more pronounced among conservatives and older adults, who respond more positively to “mental health” than “mood.” Liberals, conversely, may underreport due to greater awareness and openness in progressive circles. System justification theory posits conservatives rationalize inequalities as fair, reducing stress, while liberals’ focus on injustice heightens it—but these effects are partial and vary by political events (e.g., post-2020, liberal well-being improved as conservatives’ declined).

Trends Over Time and Implications for Youth

Mental health declines have accelerated since 2010, disproportionately affecting liberals. GSS data show the liberal-conservative mental illness link persisting from the 1970s to 2010s. Among youth, ideological gaps in distress widened to 13-17 points in treatment-seeking by 2022, with liberal females showing the steepest rises, correlating with later suicide increases. Social media’s role in exposing liberals to inequality themes exacerbates this, amid rising polarization.During events like the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 election, liberals initially reported higher distress, but gaps narrowed post-Trump (from 0.65 SD in March 2020 to 0.38 SD in 2021), due to liberal improvements and conservative declines.

Conclusion

While evidence consistently shows liberals reporting more mental health challenges—potentially due to personality traits like neuroticism, early health influences, and sensitivity to social issues—the gap may be exaggerated by self-reporting biases and stigma. Conservatives’ higher ratings often vanish with neutral phrasing, suggesting cultural attitudes toward mental health play a key role. These U.S.-centric findings highlight the need for objective measures beyond surveys, cross-cultural studies, and interventions addressing youth trends. Ultimately, assuming good mental health aligns with conservatism overlooks nuanced causes, and politicizing well-being risks further division.

 

References

1. Do conservatives really have better mental well-being than liberals? – PMC – NIH
2. Why Depression Rates Are Higher Among Liberals | Columbia Magazine
3. Mental-Health Trends and the “Great Awokening” – Manhattan Institute
4. What explains the liberal-conservative happiness gap? – Silver Bulletin
5. Do conservatives really have better mental health? Perhaps not. – Cooperative Election Study Blog
6. The relationship between health and political ideology begins in childhood – ScienceDirect
7. Personality Traits, Mental Illness, and Ideology | Psychology Today
8. Conservatives may self-rate as having better “mental health” because of stigma around the term | EurekAlert!
9. Why Are Liberals Less Happy Than Conservatives? | Institute for Family Studies
10. Study Finds Surprising Link Between Political Views and Self-Reported Wellness – Newsweek
11. (PDF) Mental Illness and the Left – ResearchGate