On pins and needles: anxiety, politics and the 2020 U.S. Presidential election

Contemporary U.S. politics is characterized by a high degree of political polarization and conflict. Consequently, scholars have become increasingly interested in understanding how political factors and events impact different dimensions of health, such as anxiety. Using data from a nationally-representative, two-wave panel survey conducted before and after the 2020 U.S. presidential election, we develop a measure of political anxiety and examine how levels of political anxiety changed following the election. In general, we find that levels of political anxiety decreased following the presidential election. We then examine individual-level factors that influence post-election levels of political anxiety. Those who are highly politically engaged, interested in politics, and who score highly on negative emotionality felt more political anxiety than their counterparts after the election. Those who voted for Donald Trump, conservatives, and African Americans reported feeling less political anxiety than their counterparts following the election. Our findings regarding vote choice and ideology are somewhat surprising in light of previous research on the impact of electoral loss. We conclude with a discussion of what might be driving some of our counterintuitive results and provide ideas for future research.