Addressing youths’ climate change-related distress: a qualitative study on the experience of burden, triggering and protective factors

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Abstract
Background and objective: In recent years, growing scientific and public awareness has highlighted the negative impacts of climate change on mental health, particularly among young people, who are disproportionately affected. These findings underscore the need for effective and scalable interventions to support individuals experiencing climate change-related distress (CCD). At the initial stage, it is crucial to understand how this distress manifests and what the momentary risk and protective factors are that exacerbate and modulate its dynamic occurrence in everyday life. Methods: In this context of need, nine qualitative, semistructured interviews with young individuals, aged between 14 and 25 and living in Germany, with CCD were conducted. Interviews centred on individuals’ burdens, putative triggers eliciting the experience, as well as putative protective factors. We analysed the data and developed themes via Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis and electively structured the analysis according to the coding paradigm adopted from Strauss and Corbin. Results: Participants reported experiencing a wide range of negative emotions as well as mental health difficulties associated with climate change, including sleep disturbances, reduced well-being and difficulties concentrating. The experience emerges from the understanding and awareness of the complexity of climate change and its associated consequences for the environment. Protective factors were reported, including positive emotions (eg, hope, finding meaning and purpose), self-efficacy, conceptual knowledge about climate change-related emotions and external factors (ie, social support). Participants employed various strategies to regulate their emotions, ranging from avoidance and distraction to strategies like acceptance, cognitive reappraisal and active engagement in pro-environmental behaviour or activism. Conclusion and clinical implications: Overall, this study enhances our understanding of young individuals’ emergence and daily life experience of CCD. The findings suggest that a prolonged or overly extensive occurrence may result in mental health difficulties. Moreover, the results highlight the importance of strengthening factors associated with resilience at a young age, enabling individuals to cope with CCD. The findings have implications for the development of potential intervention components and suggest imparting conceptual knowledge and adaptive regulatory strategies, supporting habit formation and providing networking opportunities with others affected by CCD.
Funding Information
  • European Union, EU Horizon Programme (101080323)

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