A 2024 survey by the Polish Academy of Sciences' Institute of Psychology found that supporters of right-wing parties were less likely to say they would seek psychological help during prolonged low mood or a mental health crisis than voters on the left, and also less likely than centrist voters.
“Mental health problems affect people regardless of their political views, yet readiness to seek help clearly differs across groups,” said Marta Marchlewska, a professor at the institute, in comments to Poland’s PAP news agency.
Marchlewska said that mental health is already marginalized, and adding ideological barriers would be “a very dangerous direction.”
The research team, from the institute’s Laboratory of Political Cognition, surveyed 647 adults who clearly identified their political sympathies. Voters of left-wing parties most often described contact with a specialist as a natural part of caring for one’s health.
Supporters of centrist groupings tended to fall in the middle. The lowest declared willingness to seek help was found among backers of right-wing and anti-establishment parties.
“These relationships were very consistent,” Marchlewska said. “The more right-wing the political orientation, the greater the skepticism toward psychology.”
The researchers argue that this skepticism cannot be explained only by limited access to care or high costs, problems that are widely discussed in Poland.
Marchlewska said a basic hurdle comes earlier: people have to want to seek help in the first place. In some groups, she said, worldview itself can become such a strong barrier that people do not even check whether support is available.
The study points to “right-wing authoritarianism” as a key factor behind the gap. In social science, the term refers to a worldview marked by strong attachment to traditional religious norms, distrust of cultural change, and a preference for hierarchy and firm leadership.
It is also linked to a belief that personal problems should be solved alone.
“For people with high levels of right-wing authoritarianism, social order, stability, and deference to authority are overriding values,” Marchlewska said.
In that way of thinking, she added, individual well-being can be pushed aside, with obedience to norms becoming more important than happiness or mental health.
The research also found distrust aimed at the professionals themselves. Respondents with higher levels of right-wing authoritarianism were more likely to attribute conspiracy-like intentions to psychologists and psychiatrists.
Marchlewska said some respondents claimed that specialists wanted to harm society or manipulate people, and that studying psychology supposedly gives unusual powers, including the ability to read minds.
The scale of those beliefs surprised the researchers. Nearly 30 percent of respondents agreed with a statement suggesting that psychology studies teach mind reading, Marchlewska said, which she described as a sign of low public understanding of what psychology is, and what qualifications mental health professionals actually have.
The study suggests political language can reinforce such attitudes.
Marchlewska pointed to a recent election campaign in which one presidential candidate’s use of psychological support was mocked by a rival. When politicians who serve as role models for some voters speak about therapy with irony or contempt, she said, those views can be adopted by their supporters.
Another factor, the researchers said, is broader trust in institutions. People identifying with the right were more likely to express distrust toward institutional and scientific solutions, which can shape how they view psychology and psychiatry.
Voters of liberal and left-wing parties, by contrast, tended to show greater acceptance of expert knowledge and specialist support.
Marchlewska also highlighted the role of socioeconomic status. She noted earlier findings that openness to psychological help rises with social advancement.
At the same time, people with lower status are more likely to experience mental health problems and to live in places where specialist care is scarce. Even if access improves, she warned, worldview barriers can remain difficult to overcome.
The results of the study line up broadly with international research.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP