Affective polarization—the tendency for individuals to exhibit animosity toward those on the opposite side of the partisan divide—has increased in the United States in recent years. This article presents evidence that this trend may have consequences for Americans’ health. Structural equation model analyses of nationally representative survey data from Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (n = 4,685) showed heterogeneous relationships between affectively polarized attitudes and self-rated health. On one hand, such attitudes were directly negatively associated with health such that the polarized political environment was proposed to operate as a sociopolitical stressor. Simultaneously, affective polarization was positively associated with political participation, which in turn was positively associated with health, although the direct negative effect was substantially larger than the indirect positive one. These results suggest that today’s increasingly hostile and pervasive form of partisanship may undermine Americans’ health even as it induces greater political engagement.

情感两极分化——个人对党派分歧对立面的人表现出敌意的倾向——近年来在美国有所增加。本文提供的证据表明，这种趋势可能对美国人的健康产生影响。皮尤研究中心美国趋势小组 (n = 4,685) 的全国代表性调查数据的结构方程模型分析表明，情感两极化态度与自评健康之间存在异质关系。一方面，这种态度与健康直接负相关，因此两极分化的政治环境被认为是一种社会政治压力源。同时，情感两极化与政治参与呈正相关，而政治参与又与健康呈正相关，尽管直接的负面影响远大于间接的正面影响。这些结果表明，当今日益敌对和普遍存在的党派偏见可能会损害美国人的健康，即使它会引发更多的政治参与。