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'Why Me?' The Role of Perceived Victimhood in American Politics.

ABSTRACT: Despite growing recognition among journalists and political pundits, the concept of victimhood has been largely ignored in empirical social science research. In this article, we develop a theory about, and use unique nationally-representative survey data to estimate, two manifestations of victimhood: an egocentric one entailing only perceptions of one's own victimhood, and one focused on blaming "the system." We find that these manifestations of victimhood cut across partisan, ideological, and sociodemographic lines, suggesting that feelings of victimhood are confined to neither "actual" victims nor those partisans on the losing side of elections. Moreover, both manifestations of victimhood, while related to candidate support and various racial attitudes, prove to be distinct from related psychological constructs, such as (collective) narcissism, system justification, and relative deprivation. Finally, an experiment based on candidate rhetoric demonstrates that some political messaging can make supporters feel like victims, which has consequences for subsequent attitudes and behavior.

SUBMITTER: Armaly MT

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7778419 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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'Why Me?' The Role of Perceived Victimhood in American Politics.

Armaly Miles T MT Enders Adam M AM

Political behavior 20210102 4

Despite growing recognition among journalists and political pundits, the concept of victimhood has been largely ignored in empirical social science research. In this article, we develop a theory about, and use unique nationally-representative survey data to estimate, two manifestations of victimhood: an egocentric one entailing only perceptions of one's own victimhood, and one focused on blaming "the system." We find that these manifestations of victimhood cut across partisan, ideological, and s ...[more]

PMID: 33424069

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Project description:ObjectiveThe study aims to explore the associations of elder abuse, crime victimhood and perceived safety with depression among older adults and examine the interactive effects of sex and place of residence in those associations.DesignA cross-sectional study was conducted using a large survey data.Setting and participantsThe study used data from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India wave 1 (2017-2018). The effective sample size was 31 464 older adults (aged 60 years or older).Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe outcome variable was major depression, calculated using Short Form Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Descriptive statistics along with bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to fulfil the objectives.Results5.22% of the older adults (n=1587) experienced abuse in the past 1 year. 1.33% of the older individuals (n=402) were victims of a violent crime, and 14.30% (n=1886) perceived an unsafe neighbourhood. Also, 8.67% of the older adults (n=2657) were suffering from depression. Older adults who were abused had 2.5 odds of suffering from depression (adjusted OR (AOR): 2.47, CI: 1.96 to 3.10) and victims of a violent crime were 84% more likely to be depressed (AOR: 1.84, CI: 1.15 to 2.95) compared with their counterparts. Besides, older individuals who perceived as living in unsafe neighbourhood were 61% more likely to be depressed (AOR: 1.61, CI: 1.34 to 1.93) compared with their counterparts. In the interaction analysis, older women who reported abuse had higher odds of suffering from depression (AOR: 3.27; CI: 2.34 to 4.57) compared with older men who were not abused. Similar result was found in older adults reporting abuse and residing in rural areas (AOR: 3.01, CI: 2.22 to 4.07) compared with those urban residents reporting no abuse.ConclusionsHealthcare providers should pay more attention to the mental health implications of elder abuse, crime victimhood and perceived safety to grasp the underlying dynamics of the symptomology of late-life depression.

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'Why Me?' The Role of Perceived Victimhood in American Politics.

Publications

'Why Me?' The Role of Perceived Victimhood in American Politics.

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