This study draws on symbolic empowerment theory to examine the mental health significance of Donald Trump’s unexpected presidential election victory in fall 2016 for white male veterans. Some whites, including military veterans, gravitated toward Trump’s messaging of restoring traditional power structures and defending white masculine cultural and economic dominance. The authors hypothesized that white male veterans would experience improved mental health after Donald Trump’s installation as president and commander in chief. The authors also ™hypothesized that white male veteran mental health after the 2016 election could depend on state-level sociopolitical contexts. With nationally representative survey data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the authors tested these hypotheses by predicting poor mental health days white male veterans experienced preelection and postelection in fall 2016. The authors found no time period main effects. However, veterans living in Trump-won states reported .38 fewer poor mental health days postelection, whereas those living in Clinton-won states reported .54 more poor mental health days postelection. Additionally, veterans in states where Trump’s popular vote advantage was high experienced fewer poor mental health days postelection. These findings suggest that symbolic empowerment theory may provide a unique framework for understanding health outcomes in the context of political geography and sociopolitical change.
Gorman et al. (Sun,) studied this question.