Youth impacted by climate change report heightened eco-anxiety and climate distress as well as a greater sense of agency and constructive copingThe psychological dimensions of the climate crisis have been described using several related terms, including climate anxiety, defined as “heightened emotional, mental, or somatic distress in response to dangerous changes in the climate system”; eco-anxiety, characterized as a “chronic fear of environmental doom”; and climate distress, referring to distress experienced when thinking about or worrying about climate change. These concepts are receiving increasing attention as researchers examine their effects on mental health and their implications for how individuals and society respond to the climate crisis. Importantly, while climate change can pose significant risks to mental health, previous research suggests that emotional responses and distress may reflect a healthy and adaptive response to the realities of the climate crisis that can also motivate climate action. This study examined how a broad range of psychological responses to climate change relates to youth well-being, mental health, and future life plans. Specifically, the study explored the psychological impacts of climate change among young people in the US by assessing eco-anxiety, climate distress, climate-related emotions, climate agency, and aspects of coping and adjustment. The study also investigated how these psychological responses—including emotions, perceptions, and mental health—relate to young people’s perceptions of having been directly affected by climate change.
An online survey was completed by 2,834 youth (ages 16-24) who were recruited through a paid recruitment service between November 2021 and January 2022. US residents who were able to read English were eligible for participation. Participant selection aimed to reflect ethnic, gender, and regional population distributions based on Census data. Additional participants were recruited from areas identified as particularly vulnerable to climate events. The youth participants were mainly White/non-Hispanic (49%), had finished high school (80%), and resided in a metropolitan area (88%). One third of the participants reported having a current diagnosis or receiving treatment for a mental health condition. The survey was adapted from the Changing Worlds survey, informed by feedback from a Young Person’s Advisory Group (YPAG) of nine youth (ages 16-24). The survey was comprised of four sections: (1) Health and well-being, including questions assessing anxiety, previous or current mental health conditions, and life satisfaction; (2) COVID-19 pandemic experiences and responses (not a focus of this study); (3) Climate change experiences and responses, including direct climate impacts and psychological responses; and (4) Demographic questions, including age, gender identity, education, family affluence, and ethnicity/cultural background. The climate change experiences and responses section included multiple scales to assess eco-anxiety, climate distress, climate emotions, climate agency, psychological adaptation, meaning-focused coping, sources of worry about the future, and the influence of climate change on future planning. The Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale was used to evaluate how worry about the environment affected emotions, cognition, behavior, and functioning. The psychological adaptation assessment focused on risk perception, threat appraisal, and associated emotional, cognitive, and motivational responses to climate change. Questions evaluating meaning-focused coping examined how processing thoughts and feelings about climate change might support participants’ alignment with values or a sense of purpose, which may help sustain well-being through challenging times. Questions about future planning asked whether awareness of climate change influenced participants’ desire to learn how to prepare for a climate-affected future, whether that awareness affected family planning, educational, financial, and lifestyle decisions, and whether they felt pressure to experience high-risk places before they were lost to climate change impacts. Statistical analyses examined relationships between direct climate change experience and key outcomes (mental health and well-being, eco-anxiety, climate distress, climate emotions, climate agency, psychological adaptation, meaning-focused coping, and future planning) while accounting for demographic factors.
The majority of youth (56.5%) reported moderate levels of climate distress and, on average, relatively low levels of eco-anxiety, although there was wide variation in the scores. Nearly half (42.9%) of youth felt they had been directly affected by climate change, including extreme temperatures (47.4%), air pollution (42.4%), floods (31.1%), exposure to smoke from wildfires (30.1%), superstorms or hurricanes (26.1%), drought (24.8%), local environmental change (23.5%), and wildfires (18.2%). The perception of being directly impacted by climate change increased as the number of specific climate events reported by youth increased. Importantly, the perception of being directly impacted by climate change was significantly linked to higher scores on all psychological scales, indicating increased eco-anxiety, climate distress, and interference with daily functioning, but also greater agency, psychological adaptation, and meaning-focused coping. Those who reported being directly impacted by climate change also reported significantly stronger climate emotions across the full spectrum of assessed feelings (e.g., concern, interest, disappointment, frustration, sadness, anxiousness, and anger). Youth who reported direct climate impacts were more likely to: want to educate themselves in ways that school does not to prepare for a climate-changed future, think saving money for the future is pointless, want to visit places that might change from climate impacts, question having children, and make big lifestyle changes. Additionally, the percentage of youth who worried frequently or very frequently about the impact of climate change on their future was significantly higher among those who reported experiencing direct climate impacts. Notably, youth with mental health conditions reported more disruption to daily functioning from climate-related thoughts and feelings, especially if they also reported direct experiences with climate impacts. No clear differences emerged based on demographic characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity/cultural background, education level, socioeconomic background, and rural/urban location). However, there was some indication that climate change impacts on youth’s future plans varied based on ethnicity/cultural background.
The study suggests that many US youth are experiencing mental health impacts related to climate change. Overall, self-reported direct exposure to climate-related events was a significant indicator of how young people think and feel about climate change and how these experiences affect their mental health and behavioral intentions. Youth who felt personally impacted by climate events reported greater distress, stronger emotional responses to climate change, and greater interference with daily functioning. At the same time, they were more likely to use meaning-focused coping strategies to process their thoughts and feelings constructively and reported a stronger sense of agency. The findings also indicate that youth with existing mental health conditions may be particularly vulnerable to the psychological impacts of climate change. Further research is needed to better understand the relationship between climate change, mental health, and well-being. Targeted resources that address young people’s individual psychological needs may help them process climate-related experiences, develop effective coping strategies, and take meaningful action.
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