Take a look at these two blocks of statistics:
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/population-health/us-states-ranked-by-suicide-rate.html
https://morningconsult.com/tracking-trump/
What's remarkable is how strongly correlated suicide rates are with Trump approval rates, at the state level. Specifically, there's a 58.4% positive correlation. Basically, the more suicidally depressed people are in a state, the more likely people in the state are to approve of Trump.
This is particularly interesting because it flies in the face of the normal trend for higher-latitude populations to have higher suicide rates (likely owing to circadian rhythm problems in places where there are huge imbalances between night and day in the Summer and Winter months, resulting in sleep irregularities and depression). Other things being equal, you'd expect lower suicide rates in the Deep South than in New England, just as you find lower suicide rates in southern European countries (Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal) than northern ones (Norway, Finland, Sweden, Iceland).
So, what's the reason for this correlation? Is there something about conservative politics that makes people suicidal (e.g., skimping on public assistance for mental health care)? Or something about being suicidal that makes people conservative (e.g., the attraction of hateful rhetoric to those who are emotionally frayed)? Or something separate that drives both things (e.g., a sense of being left behind, economically)? Why is it that there's such an enormous gap in suicide rates between places like NJ, NY, and MA (around 8/100k), and places like Montana, Alaska, and Wyoming (around 25/100k)?
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/population-health/us-states-ranked-by-suicide-rate.html
https://morningconsult.com/tracking-trump/
What's remarkable is how strongly correlated suicide rates are with Trump approval rates, at the state level. Specifically, there's a 58.4% positive correlation. Basically, the more suicidally depressed people are in a state, the more likely people in the state are to approve of Trump.
This is particularly interesting because it flies in the face of the normal trend for higher-latitude populations to have higher suicide rates (likely owing to circadian rhythm problems in places where there are huge imbalances between night and day in the Summer and Winter months, resulting in sleep irregularities and depression). Other things being equal, you'd expect lower suicide rates in the Deep South than in New England, just as you find lower suicide rates in southern European countries (Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal) than northern ones (Norway, Finland, Sweden, Iceland).
So, what's the reason for this correlation? Is there something about conservative politics that makes people suicidal (e.g., skimping on public assistance for mental health care)? Or something about being suicidal that makes people conservative (e.g., the attraction of hateful rhetoric to those who are emotionally frayed)? Or something separate that drives both things (e.g., a sense of being left behind, economically)? Why is it that there's such an enormous gap in suicide rates between places like NJ, NY, and MA (around 8/100k), and places like Montana, Alaska, and Wyoming (around 25/100k)?
