Replication Data for: Democracy and Depression: A Cross-National Study of Depressive Symptoms and Non-Participation

Depression is the most common mental health disorder. It has consequences not only on the individual, but also on the social and political level. We argue that depressive symptoms impair political participation by reducing the motivation and physical energy of sufferers. We test our hypotheses by conducting regression analyses of four nationally-representative cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys that collectively span many democracies. Our results are three-fold. First, we find that the severest depressive symptoms lower the probability of voting by 0.05 – 0.25 points, an effect that is exceeded only by education and age. Second, we show depressive symptoms negatively affect political interest and internal efficacy, thereby confirming that they diminish political motivation. Third, we find that depressive symptoms most strongly affect physically-demanding acts, thereby confirming that they reduce the physical energy required for participation. We conclude by urging scholars to take depressive symptoms seriously in the study of political behavior.

抑郁症是最为常见的精神健康障碍。其影响不仅波及个体层面，更延伸至社会与政治领域。我们认为，抑郁症状会通过降低患者的动机与躯体精力，损害其政治参与行为。我们针对四项具有全国代表性的横截面与纵向调查开展回归分析，以此检验研究假设——这些调查整体覆盖了众多民主国家。本研究的结论可归纳为三点：其一，我们发现重度抑郁症状会使个体的投票概率降低0.05至0.25个百分点，该影响仅低于受教育程度与年龄因素；其二，研究表明抑郁症状会对政治兴趣与内在政治效能感（internal efficacy）产生负面影响，由此证实其会削弱个体的政治参与动机；其三，抑郁症状对需要耗费体力的政治行为影响最为显著，从而验证了其会降低参与政治活动所需的躯体精力。本研究最后呼吁学界在政治行为研究中重视抑郁症状的影响。