Stress research Voting campaign can cause stress among minorities

A referendum campaign like the one on "marriage for all" can cause stress among those directly affected and their allies. In a study, researchers from the University of Zurich showed that they released more stress hormones during the referendum campaign.

The researchers used hair samples to investigate how the "Marriage for All" campaign in 2021 affected the stress levels of queer people and their sympathizers, as the University of Zurich reported on Tuesday.

The results show that significantly more cortisol and cortisone were released during the referendum campaign. However, the self-perceived stress levels of the people studied did not increase. The stress level decreased in each case when those affected perceived the supportive words of the Yes campaign.