Republicans Least Crazy, Says Study
Dave Price
At least, that's how they self-report — even when other factors are controlled for.
Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats or independents to rate their mental health as excellentWhich tends to argue this nut holding hostages at Hillary's campaign offices is probably a Democrat. Let's offer our prayers for all involved (atheists may instead merely wish for a positive outcome).
....
But an analysis of the relationship between party identification and self-reported excellent mental health within various categories of age, gender, church attendance, income, education, and other variables shows that the basic pattern persists regardless of these characteristics. In other words, party identification appears to have an independent effect on mental health even when each of these is controlled for.
UPDATE: OK, this line is too juicy not to excerpt:
The reason the relationship exists between being a Republican and more positive mental health is unknown, and one cannot say whether something about being a Republican causes a person to be more mentally healthy, or whether something about being mentally healthy causes a person to choose to become a Republican
--|PW|--
But, come on, is this news? Most Democrats I've ever seen or met are perpetually angry if things aren't going 100% their way 100% of the time.
But it's interesting that Democrats are more likely to call themselves mentally unhealthy.
Proof of BDS!!! It's skewing the curve!!!
In all seriousness, I wonder how the poll would have fared if had been conducted during a different 4 year period, say, from 1996 to 2000.
No mention from Gallup on the potential effect the current political climate might have on the results, but I’d bet it’s a factor.
However, all these considerations blend together in such a complete mishmosh that the only reliable conclusion we can draw is this: none of this really means anything.
I'm a Republican, and my mental heath is great.
And so is mine.
Ryan
I like that last part about being a Republican cause mental health or having a healthy mind makes on Republican...
cat
If up can be down and left can be right then there's no point to using words any more. I think that may actually have been Kevin D's point a few posts down, although I'm not sure...
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
That is to say, associations related to stability and how that effects (as well as affects) a person's overall mental and psychological schema in regards to the way they both perceive, and operate within, the world.
Stability in psychological conduct and disposition tends to increase optimism, as well as a feeling of control (if not a positive ability to control), and that tends to promote long term planning, and that tends to negate instability (physical, mental, psychological, even financial and economic) as a generalized condition of behavioral conduct.
From a stable platform, or base of operations, or even simply a mental framework or Weltanschauung of coherence one is capable of a wide latitude of operational independence, as well as directed enterprise and focused concentration of effort towards optimal accomplishment.
Effort can be concentrated (in such a state and in such individuals) towards discovery, innovation, progress, exploration, and accumulation (as well as outright mastery) of endeavors and new resources geared towards effective achievement, whereas in a localized (or generalized) field of instability (whether that be environmental, political, psychological, etc.) energy is usually concentrated at the treatment of, attempts to thwart, maintenance towards, or defense against, dearth, inertia, and entropy.
As to whether such a state or condition is indeed self-inflicted, or whether or not the involved individual assumes his condition is not conquerable as a matter of course, it matters not in a pragmatic sense.
The psychological cluster of associated affective behaviors is still more often than not clearly indicated in the given parametrs of human interaction and self-perception, as is the case when the opposite state prevails.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
No, that doesn't work, because even if that first part's true, the people who do report themselves mentally unhealthy generally are. Therefore, unless you assume Republicans were more likely to lie (for which there is no basis here) one has to accept that Democrats are generally less mentally healthy.
But again, this is all such a complicated issue that I think any attempt to draw any conclusions from this study is meaningless. Moreover, it's unworthy. Depicting those one disagrees with as in some way mentally deficient is merely a way to avoid addressing the issues. There are lots of these slurs going around on both sides, and they're all a big waste of time and a cop-out.
Again, that doesn't matter in the aggregate; some Democrats might be lying, and some Republicans; for your point to hold, you have to assume more GOPers are lying.
All else being equal, a population that reports worse mental health has worse mental health.
Raising vague objections about how "complicated" the issue isn't going to change that. And again, this is a scientific study, not a polemic depiction.
Indeed. But all is is not equal. Cultural factors discourage people from self-reporting mental health problems. If those cultural factors are applied differentially, then they render the final results meaningless.
Moreover, we need to be careful about the interpretation of any such results regarding mental health, for there is evidence that many of the greatest creative geniuses of human history suffered from bipolar disorder.
All in all, I'd suggest that you take the advice of the Gallup people:
"The exact explanation for this persistent relationship -- as noted -- is unclear."
Of course we all lose our tempers now and then. Dean freely admits to being imperfect in this regard, which is why regulars to this establishment will generally be cut more slack than people who we don't know very well.
Still: behave like an adult, or go find somewhere else to play. Thanks.