Study: Politics Negatively Impact Georgia Women’s Mental Health

By Shelby Crosier

Politics are a serious source of stress for many Americans. Stress can have negative effects on both the mind and the body, especially in the long-term—leading to everything from anxiety and depression to muscle tightness, digestive issues, and heart attacks.  

A new paper published by Stephanie Eick, PhD, assistant professor of environmental health, in Social Science & Medicine investigated how political stress during 2023 and 2024 impacted mental health for women in Georgia. States in the Southeastern U.S., like Georgia, have faced harsher restrictions on abortion access since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. This can be a source of stress for all women, even those not seeking abortions.

What They Found

The study showed that stress resulting from the political climate caused worse mental health for women in Georgia. They found:

• Women in the state who were stressed about politics experienced more general stress, anxiety, and depression.
• Women who reported the 2024 election to be a source of stress were at the highest risk of poor mental health.

Women who believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases also experienced more negative mental health effects. This supports previous research that has found that restricting reproductive autonomy is a major stressor for women of reproductive age.

Why This Matters

“Regardless of your political affiliation, political topics are in the news a lot right now and are on people’s minds. So, it is important to know how this is impacting your mental health due to the wide-ranging and well-documented consequences of depression and anxiety,” says Eick. “Our findings really put data behind, and in many ways validate, what a lot of people are feeling right now.”