Open Access“Yes We Can!” The Mental Health Significance for U.S. Black Adults of Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential Election
Author(s) -
Tony N. Brown,
Alexa Solazzo,
Bridget K. Gorman
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
sociology of race and ethnicity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2332-6506
pISSN - 2332-6492
DOI - 10.1177/2332649220911387
Subject(s) - mental health , presidential election , milestone , behavioral risk factor surveillance system , position (finance) , psychology , political science , medicine , psychiatry , public health , geography , politics , nursing , archaeology , finance , law , economics
This study examines the mental health significance of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential election for black adults. His election was a milestone moment. Hence, we expect black adults would experience improved mental health after the first self-identified black person wins election to the most powerful position in the United States. Using nationally representative survey data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), we address this expectation by predicting poor mental health days that black adults report pre-election and post-election. We find no overall difference in poor mental health days between the time periods. However, a statistical interaction between gender and time period demonstrates black men report 1.01 fewer poor mental health days after the election, whereas black women report .45 more poor mental health days after the election.