Clinical manifestations of anxiety disorders as predictors of political attitudes: a prospective cohort study

First published: August 13, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12796

Commentary

It has been suggested that conservative political ideology correlates with increased susceptibility to threat, and that it is unclear whether the association between susceptibility to threat and political attitudes can be observed in clinical measures of mental health.

This study investigates how anxiety disorders predict attitudes toward several political issues.

Participants included 7253 individuals from the 1958 British Birth Cohort Study. Symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, phobias, and panic were assessed in clinical interviews at age 44, and opinions about political issues were self-reported by participants six years later.

Results showed that anxiety symptoms were associated with increased concerns about economic inequality, environmental protection, distrust of politics, and a poor work ethic, and no association was observed with racist or authoritarian attitudes.

We also assessed how political attitudes at ages 33 and 42 predicted symptoms of anxiety disorders at age 44, revealing a possible bidirectional association between concerns about economic inequality and symptoms of anxiety disorders.

These results do not support an association between conservative political attitudes and heightened susceptibility to threat, and heightened anxiety may increase concerns about social inequality and the environment.