A recent study published in the journal Sociology of Race and Ethnicity found that Barack Obama’s reelection in 2012 had a significant impact on the mental health of black men, but… The effects differed by educational level. While black men with a college degree experienced improvements in their mental health after President Obama’s victory, black men without a college education reported a decline in their mental health over the same period.
Researchers led by Tony Brown, a distinguished sociology professor at Rice University, set out to examine how President Obama’s reelection affected the mental health of black men and women. The study builds on previous research on the impact of President Obama’s first election in 2008 on mental health, showing that black men reported fewer days of poor mental health after President Obama’s victory. It was done. But Brown and his team wanted to understand whether the optimism surrounding Obama’s first election still resonates four years later, especially among black men.
“Most people agree that President Barack Obama’s inauguration was a milestone moment in American politics and history,” said Brown, director of the Racism and Racial Experiences (RARE) Workgroup. “I am interested in this topic because of the fact that there are many
“But I think most people are starting to disagree about whether his presidency represented real racial progress or was just an optical illusion. Additionally, while social science research often focuses on the effects of structural racism, President Obama’s inauguration is believed to represent a challenge to structural racism. , I’m also interested in this topic.
For the study, researchers analyzed data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a large, nationally representative survey that collects health-related data from more than 400,000 U.S. adults each year. They focused on a sample of 5,521 black adults surveyed in the 30 days before and after Obama’s 2012 reelection. The researchers measured the number of days of poor mental health that respondents reported experiencing in the past 30 days and compared the period before and after the election to assess any impact. Changes in mental health.
In addition to mental health outcomes, the study examined these factors, including income, education level, gender, and whether participants lived in states where Obama won a majority of votes or lost. Various factors that could influence the results were considered. By controlling for these variables, the researchers aimed to isolate the effect of reelection itself.
Researchers found that the mental health of college-educated black men improved significantly, with nearly three fewer days of poor mental health per month after the election. In contrast, black men without a college education reported one more day per month of poor mental health.
Researchers have proposed several reasons for this discrepancy. One possibility is that less educated black men felt that Mr. Obama was not fulfilling his campaign promises. These people may have expected President Obama to more effectively address issues such as job creation, health care access, and systemic inequality. As these promises went unfulfilled in their eyes, they experienced feelings of disappointment and relative deprivation, meaning that they were left behind compared to other groups, including wealthier and better-educated black men. Their mental state may have worsened due to the feeling that they were being held back.
“The average person should consider how the election will affect their mental health,” Brown told SciPost. “Elections can prove the importance of health. Maybe it’s the stress that political polarization causes. Maybe it’s the thrill of seeing your favorite candidate win. Maybe this is why… It could be a way for people in the local community to come together and register others to vote.”
“Social scientists need to think more critically about how large-scale sociopolitical events like elections affect individual health. Regardless of who wins, I think the importance of mental health will become clear.”
For black women, the study found no significant changes in mental health after President Obama’s reelection. This mirrors findings from an earlier 2008 study in which Black women similarly did not experience measurable improvements in mental health.
“I was surprised that there wasn’t a positive association between Barack Obama’s presidency and the mental health of black women,” Brown said. “In this study and previous research, it appears that only black men experienced changes in their mental health following Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 elections and re-elections, respectively.”
This can be due to several factors. For example, the researchers noted that black women may have been worried about the potential dangers that President Obama and his family faced during his time in office, particularly the numerous death threats he received. Black women may also have been concerned about whether President Obama’s inauguration would address their particular struggles against both racism and sexism.
“The long-term goal of this line of research is to extend the concept of social determinants of health to sociopolitical changes such as elections,” Professor Brown explained. “Social scientists too often fixate on micro-level events that impact health, but macro-level events are also important. Haitian immigrants with records and working hard to build local economies Think about how you feel when the president of the United States suggests that people are eating the dogs and cats of their neighbors and colleagues. That’s not a micro-level threat, but an insult that should be placed in a sociological context. ”
The study, “’Yes We Can!’ The Mental Health Impact of Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential Election for Black Adults in the United States,” was authored by Tony N. Brown, Alexa Sollazzo, and Bridget K. Gorman.
