Neuroticism and the political Left

Answer from Greg Lukianoff & Andrea:

Overwhelmingly, 57% of the more relaxed students in our study reported feelings of poor mental health at least half the time, compared to just 34% of the more conservative students. Let that sink in. 34% is really bad, but 57% is closer to the figure of 2 out of 3 students who are very liberal.

The graph above shows that as students move further to the left, they are more likely to have poor mental health – suggesting that it’s not just liberal views that affect mental health, but also the extent of their beliefs. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) test shows a statistically significant predictive value of mental health. Post-hoc tests show that it predicts in the indicated direction: more freedom, worse mental health. So far, the data is consistent with the findings of others (Zach Goldberg and Jon Haidt used data from Pew Research, as well as Gimbrone et al.), and supports the idea that the “fundamental of social justice” can have a negative impact on the mental health of those who accept it.

By using the excellent Arnold Kling. Having been in this field for a while, it is one of the most important facts in understanding the current American political discourse. However, I would emphasize that in this context the word “liberal” is misplaced.



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