Abstract
Emerging terms in the literature such as eco-anxiety describe heightened concern, fear, and anxiety related to the climate crisis. As the climate emergency grows in urgency, eco-anxiety could precipitate new psychological conditions and worsen existing mental illnesses. This is of particular concern among youth, who are likely to experience repeated stressors related to the climate crisis and are in a developmental period characterized by peak onset of mental health disorders. Recent efforts have attempted to measure eco-anxiety within the population; however, extant research is largely focused on adults. Consequently, this study’s objectives were to assess levels of climate concern and eco-anxiety among BC students. To do so, items measuring climate concern and eco-anxiety were included on the Youth Development Instrument, a population-level well-being survey of Grade 11 students in BC. Survey participants included 9255 students (45.8% female; 2.8% gender minorities). Many students were worried about climate change (78.2%) and felt greater action should be taken (82.4%). A smaller proportion reported experiences of eco-anxiety, with at least 42.6% feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge due to the environment in the past two weeks. Climate concern and eco-anxiety is a significant stressor in youth. Developing resources to help youth cope will be a pressing priority in coming years. Schools may serve as a unique opportunity to employ eco-anxiety programming and resources to help support this age group during the climate crisis.
Presenters
Judy WuStudent, Doctor of Philosophy in Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Human Impacts and Responsibility
KEYWORDS
Mental health; Mental well-being; Youth; Children; Eco-anxiety; Climate anxiety
