A new study finds that neurotic young Americans are more likely to hold liberal political views—but only in the United States, and only in younger generations. The pattern vanishes in older Americans and doesn't appear in 19 other countries, suggesting that economic anxiety, not personality alone, may be reshaping American politics.
The research, published in the International Social Science Journal, analyzed data from over 25,000 people across three separate studies. What emerges is a portrait of generational divergence: young Americans who score high on neuroticism—a personality trait characterized by anxiety, worry, and emotional instability—tilt decidedly toward liberal ideology. But their grandparents? No such pattern.
THE GENERATIONAL HYPOTHESIS
Francesco Rigoli, a social scientist at City St George's, University of London, calls this the "Generational Hypothesis." The idea is straightforward but significant: older Americans came of age during the post-war boom, an era of stable jobs, strong unions, and economic optimism. Younger Americans, by contrast, grew up during what Rigoli calls the "contemporary" period—think rising student debt, gig economy precarity, and the 2008 financial crisis landing in their formative years.
"While in recent years old Americans have moved to the conservative camp, young Americans have become progressively more liberal," Rigoli told PsyPost. "Why this has occurred remains poorly understood."
His hypothesis: economic competition breeds anxiety, and anxiety seeks political solutions. Liberal ideology, with its emphasis on social safety nets and critiques of hyper-competition, may appeal to young people experiencing heightened mental distress.
THE EVIDENCE
Rigoli conducted three studies to test this idea. The first analyzed 1,644 participants from the 2022 General Social Survey, a long-running representative sample of Americans. Neuroticism was measured through two questions about nervousness and worry. Political ideology was assessed on a seven-point scale from "extremely liberal" to "extremely conservative."
The results were striking. Among younger adults (roughly ages 29-43), higher neuroticism predicted liberal ideology. For those 57 and older, the relationship disappeared entirely. The cutoff appeared around age 47.
