Emotional reactivity changes to daily stressors surrounding the 2016 U.S. presidential election

Abstract

Results from the Nov. 8, 2016 U.S. presidential election largely contradicted expectations which indicated a popular and electoral majority for the democratic candidate. Although the date of the election was known, the result was not anticipated. We examined potential changes in within-person emotional reactivity to personally-relevant stressors as a function of the more distal, U.S. presidential election. During October and November of 2016 we conducted a daily diary study of stressors and well-being in younger adults. A subsample (n = 29 individuals aged 18–22 reporting on 235 days total) of the larger project (n = 107 total) began the 9-day study protocol on Nov. 2 and completed it on Nov. 10. The U.S. Presidential election took place on Nov. 8. Multilevel analyses of the 880 total study days comparing the election subsample and the comparison subsample revealed significant increases in emotional reactivity to daily stressors from before the election to after the election; emotional reactivity became amplified in the short term after the election. These findings highlight the importance of both distal and proximal environmental factors for individual responses in the daily stress process unfolding over time.