The impact of health on voting intent among youth in nine Southeast European countriesKirbiš, Andrej (Avtor) Lubej, Maruša (Avtor) healthpolitical participationturnoutpolitical trustyouthThis study investigates the impact of personal health, measured asself-rated health, on voting intentions among youth in nine Southeast European (SEE) countries, with a focus on the mediatingrole of political trust. Using structural equation modelling (SEM), we analyse data from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) youth surveysin SEE countries. Our findings reveal that while better self-ratedhealth is positively associated with political trust in Romania and Slovenia, this relationship is not observed in other countries. Political trust significantly enhances voting intentions in all countries except Bosnia and Herzegovina. Additionally, self-rated health directly influences voting intentions positively in Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia, negatively in Romania, and shows no significant effect elsewhere. Lastly, political trust mediates the relationship between self-rated health and voting intentions only in Romania and Slovenia. Measures aimed at supporting health among youth and their political trust could lead to highervoter turnout; however, the effectiveness of such policies may vary across countries.Taylor & Francis20252025-10-25 03:25:17Znanstveno delo95810UDK: 316.334:614(497)COBISS_ID: 254594051DOI: 10.1080/14683857.2025.2576290ISSN pri članku: 1743-9639sl