Description/Abstract
Political polarization poses considerable risks to well-being. Both ideological polarization (“extremification” of policy positions and ideological orientations) and affective polarization (out-party hate) have increased over the past several decades with detrimental effects on public health. This brief summarizes the impacts of political polarization on public health in the U.S., highlighting the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study on the health risks of polarization. The authors show that, in the United States, one of the strongest predictors of COVID-19 prevention behaviors, such as social distancing and vaccination, was political partisanship. Gaps in these behaviors between Republicans and Democrats increased over the course of the pandemic, despite the increasing evidence about the health risks. The authors provide suggestions for how public health leaders can regain and sustain trust to reduce the harms of political polarization.
Document Type
Issue Brief
Keywords
Political polarization, public health, COVID-19
Disciplines
COVID-19 | Political Science | Public Health | Public Policy
Date
11-19-2024
Language
English
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Alyssa Kirk and Shannon Monnat for writing the preliminary draft of this brief.
Recommended Citation
Kushner Gadarian, Shana, Van Bavel, Jay, Ruggeri, Kai, and Knowles, Eric. (2024). Political Polarization Harms Public Health. Lerner Center Population Health Research Brief Series. Issue Brief #71. Accessed at: doi.org/10.14305/rt.lerner.2024.3.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
