Not in the mood for party: Symptoms of depression reduce the weight of partisanship on vote choice

Abstract In this paper, we investigate whether symptoms of depression affect the relationship between partisanship—one of the most important predictors of electoral behavior—and vote choice. Building on research from mood and depressive realism, we argue that symptoms of depression reduce the association between the strength of partisanship and vote choice because depressed mood can lead to better, clearer thinking. We evaluate and find support for this hypothesis using survey data from Britain, Spain, and the Netherlands. Our findings improve our understanding of the political consequences of depression, one of the most prevalent mental health problems in contemporary democracies.