From Ballot Box Blues to Street Protests: Connecting Loneliness and Political Participation

Loneliness has received limited attention in political science research despite the increasing policy salience of the loneliness epidemic, as recognized by the U.S. Surgeon General. This study is the first to explore the political implications of loneliness in the U.S. by examining its relationship with political participation. Previous studies have suggested that social motives are the driving factor connecting loneliness to political participation. Building upon health and politics literature, this study argues that the grievance perspective offers an alternative pathway, where loneliness both motivates and demotivates different forms of political participation. Using multiple large-scale surveys, I find that loneliness has a negative association with voting and registering to vote, mainly electoral participation, while having a positive association with non-institutionalized forms of political engagement. Notably, loneliness is significantly associated with contentious political acts, including protesting, petitioning, and boycotting. This study contributes to our understanding of political participation by demonstrating that loneliness, a subjective perception of one’s interpersonal networks, emerges as a unique predictor of both electoral and contentious modes of participation.