Climate change refers to the changes in the Earth’s climate that are directly or indirectly caused by humans. These changes cause long-term alterations to landscapes and physical environments that make them less habitable for all forms of life on earth, including plants, animals, and people. They also cause more extreme weather events, including floods, fires, droughts, and heat waves. Some people prefer to use the term climate destruction to highlight the devastating impact of these changes.
Climate change affects the fundamental capacity of young people to live, grow, and realise their potential. According to UNICEF, half of the world’s children are at an ‘extremely high risk’ of the effects of climate change. These risks threaten not only their physical well-being but also their mental health.
Experiencing events related to climate change in childhood, such as extreme weather events, can have enduring mental health consequences that persist into adulthood. As children’s and adolescents’ brains are still developing, they are particularly vulnerable to the impact of traumatic or adverse experiences.
There are many different mechanisms through which climate destruction affects young people’s mental health. This includes natural disasters, rising temperatures, air pollution, the loss of land, conflict, and displacement. Climate change exacerbates racial and economic disparities, disproportionately impacting minority groups.
In this blog, we look at some of the ways climate change impacts young people’s mental health, drawing on the research that’s been published to date. We also touch on some of the protective factors that help young people remain resilient in the face of climate change.
Post-Disaster Mental Health Symptoms
Climate change leads to more frequent and extreme weather events, such as storms, fires, and floods. These events can destroy young people’s homes and their families’ livelihood and stability. In some cases, they can be life-threatening, causing death or serious injury to relatives or other members of the community. They often constitute experiences of trauma.
Several systematic reviews have assessed the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among children and adolescents who have lived through these kinds of disasters. Estimates from different studies vary substantially, from 2–83%. This variation might reflect the diversity of experience of different children, depending on their closeness to the disaster and their personal losses.
Researchers have consistently found that social support is a crucial protective factor against the development of PTSD. Children who are well-supported are less likely to develop long-lasting trauma-related symptoms. Other factors, such as parenting style, coping mechanisms, and community connection, can also protect children and adolescents against developing PTSD, depression, and anxiety after a disaster.
A meta-analysis on the impact of natural disasters found that children and adolescents had higher rates of depression, anxiety, panic disorders, and aggressive behaviours after a disaster. Surviving a disaster was significantly associated with both internalising and externalising problems.
Anxiety About the Future
As well as experiencing climate-related events directly, young people are also impacted by the indirect effects of climate change. They might worry about how climate destruction will affect them or others in the future, or react to reports they have seen on the news.
Studies have found that young people experience anxiety and other negative emotions when they think about climate change. They might feel depression, anxiety, and extreme emotions such as sadness, anger, and fear.
Young people from communities that have strong ties to the land, such as indigenous and subsistence communities, may experience particularly strong emotions, including grief over the loss of ecosystems, species, and landscapes that have cultural value or sustain their livelihoods.
Family Relationships and Connectedness
Climate-related disasters can impact family relationships and the family system as a whole. Parents and other caregivers may experience extreme stress and other mental health problems following a natural disaster, caused by trauma and the loss of property, livelihood, and other basic resources. Psychological symptoms, combined with the physical demands of surviving and rebuilding post-disaster, can impact caregivers’ ability to be responsive to their children’s needs.
When parents are unable to respond to young people’s emotional and physical needs, it can disrupt their social-emotional development, making them more vulnerable to mental health conditions both at the time and in the future. It also alters the dynamics of the entire family, causing poorer family functioning.
Distress and mental health symptoms among parents may lead to increased conflicts and hostility in families, as well as anxious parenting. These changes to young people’s home environment can weaken their social support systems and make them more likely to develop PTSD, depression, and anxiety.
Climate Destruction and Violence Against Women
Climate-related disasters may also increase violence in the home, towards women and adolescent girls. In one review, most of the included studies found that extreme weather and climate events increased at least one type of gender-based violence, often related to increased gender inequality, economic instability, and disrupted infrastructure.
Both witnessing intimate partner violence and experiencing violence themselves seriously harm the mental health and well-being of young people, with long-term consequences.
Climate Change and Young People’s Education and Learning
Climate conditions that are hotter-than-usual may also impact children’s learning and education. Hot classrooms can make it more difficult to concentrate and reduce motivation, leading to increased absences. Heat can also affect young people’s cognitive functions and quality of sleep, impacting their learning and memory.
One study among countries in South-East Asia found that hotter-than-usual temperatures and lower-than-average rainfall in prenatal and early childhood predicted fewer years of schooling when they were older.
The shock, distress, and disruption of climate disasters may also affect young people’s education. Other studies have linked flooding and extreme rain to lower school enrolment and poorer language, memory, and spatial thinking skills years later.
Coping and Resilience: What Factors Help Young People Remain Resilient in the Face of Climate Destruction?
In the face of climate destruction – and the harm it may inflict on young people’s mental health – certain experiences and behaviours can help young people to cope. Young people who use problem-focused and meaning-focused coping styles are less likely to experience climate-related anxiety and other negative emotions. This might mean engaging in pro-climate actions that draw on personal or collective values.
Social support is another key protective factor against the mental health consequences of climate change. Social support from parents, including emotional support, can reduce the risk of developing PTSD, improve personal relations, increase self-esteem, and protect against anxiety and depression. Social support from friends and social support from classmates are also protective factors.
Other research has found that community connectedness can protect the well-being of young people after a climate change event. A qualitative study among indigenous Inuit young people identified a strong community attachment as a protective factor against the mental harm caused by climate change. Cultural identity was also considered a protective factor for their well-being.
The Wave Clinic: Mental Health Support for Young People and Families
The Wave Clinic offers specialist mental health care for young people and families. We take a trauma-focused, whole-person approach to mental health support, supporting young people to grow in self-confidence and resilience while addressing the past experiences that shape their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours today. We emphasise the role of interpersonal relationships, families, and communities as a basis for mental wellbeing and mental health recovery.
We offer residential and outpatient support from our treatment spaces in Kuala Lumpur and Dubai, combining a diverse selection of treatment modalities in tailored programs.
If you’re interested in finding out more about our programs, get in touch today.
