A Hidden Voting Gap? : How the Interaction Between Income and Depression Affects Voting

Sammanfattning: Depression has only in recent years been explored within political science, despite its deeply political causes and consequences. Previous research has found significantly lower political participation among people with depression and has especially focused on its negative effect on voting. While there are reasons to expect that depression among low-income earners could result in even lower voting than depression among high-income earners, no research has investigated whether the relationship between depression and voting could depend on income levels. The thesis therefore quantitatively tests the interaction between depression and income on voting behavior on the individual level using Dutch panel data from the Longitudinal Internet studies for the Social Sciences (LISS) from the years 2008-2021. It hypothesizes and examines whether a combination of a low income and depression creates even greater obstacles to voting than what has previously been recognized. Leaning on regression analysis with individual-level fixed effects, the main finding is a relatively robust and significant negative interaction effect whereby a low income is associated with a significantly lower intention to vote among people with depression compared to individuals with depression and a high income. Potential mediators - political efficacy, trust, and mobilizing resources - are furthermore tested through mediation models, but no support is found for the hypotheses that these variables mediate the interaction. Altogether, the study highlights a potential voting gap among people with low income and depression that has previously been unrecognized. It also deepens the general understanding of the how economic and mental health factors relates to political participation, emphasizing the need for further research to fully comprehend the complexity of this relationship.