Does COVID-19 affect mental health and political attitudes in the UK?

Published on 7 August 2020

Dr Luca Bernardi from the University of Liverpool's Department of Politics has recently been awarded a British Academy grant to research the effects of COVID-19 life changes on mental health and political attitudes in the UK, in collaboration with Prof Ian H. Gotlib (Department of Psychology, Stanford University).

Dr Bernardi said:

Life changes due to Coronavirus/COVID-19 responses are predicted to have serious implications for people’s mental health, as warned by the WHO and other experts. Given the alarming rates of common mental disorders like depression, anxiety, and stress, the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to exacerbate these already high prevalence rates. With an imminent coronavirus economic recession, these rates are unlikely to improve. These changes in mental health may have important implications for political efficacy and political support, which are closely connected to governments’ responses to the pandemic.

Awarded by a British Academy Special Research Grant, this project addresses these issues through the use of survey research in the UK. By identifying emotional functioning as a key source of political inequality, this research is original and interdisciplinary and is important for tackling stigma associated with mental illness and for better understanding the relation between mental health and political attitudes.

Find out more

Learn more about the University of Liverpool's research into COVID-19.