Children’s emotional responses to climate change awareness include worry, guilt, and hopelessness. These negative emotions can have undesirable mental health consequences. Potential interventions for these mental health concerns focus on increasing exposure to nature, promoting connectedness to nature, and providing opportunities for active engagement in pro-environment activities. These approaches for addressing climate anxiety are supported by research documenting the restorative qualities of nature and the mental health benefits of environmental activism.

While the studies in this section of the Digest are specific to climate change anxiety, other studies from a broader field of research on nature and mental health provide additional support for looking to nature connectedness and environmental activism as promoters of mental health. Chawla (2020), for example, explains how connecting with nature and acting to protect the environment can be mutually reinforcing and may help children deal with environmental loss. Other studies demonstrate a strong link between connectedness to nature and environmental activism. One such study by Otto and Pensini (2017) found connectedness to nature to be a stronger predictor than environmental knowledge in promoting ecological behavior in children. A study by Barrera-Hernández and colleagues (2020) adds support to the understanding that connectedness to nature promotes sustainable behaviors in children. This study also links sustainable behavior to happiness.

These and other studies – including work by Vanaken and Danckaerts (2018) – indicate that, while more research is needed, enough is known about positive connections between exposure to nature and mental health to demand the attention of policy makers and mental healthcare workers, especially in urban environments where access to green space tends to be limited.

Children who become aware of climate change vicariously can have both maladaptive and adaptive emotional responses

This scoping review analyzed 18 articles addressing eco-anxiety in children and youth who become aware of climate change through indirect means. Most of the studies were published since 2016, and more than half were conducted in the United States. Children’s responses to climate change awareness include worry (a maladaptive response) and hope (an adaptive response). Acknowledging youth’s emotions and promoting their sense of agency may encourage more adaptive responses.
Léger-Goodes et al., 2022. Eco-anxiety in children: A scoping review of the mental health impacts of the awareness of climate change.
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Adolescents report being engaged and emotionally affected by current environmental issues

A team of researchers and adolescents (age 14-18) in the United Kingdom worked together as co-researchers in exploring adolescents’ thoughts and feelings about current environmental issues. Results showed that while youth tend to be highly engaged in environmental issues, they are also experiencing fear, anxiety, anger, and sadness regarding the state of the environment. Results also showed that the benefits of environmental activism apply to both the environment and mental health.
Thompson et al., 2022. Adolescents’ thoughts and feelings about the local and global environment: A qualitative interview study.
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Increased engagement with nature and involvement in climate change mitigation are two recommended ways to address climate anxiety 

This paper calls attention to the fact that climate change is not just an environmental problem. It is a psychological and social problem, as well. Suggestions for addressing related mental health concerns focus on promoting both individual well-being and engagement in activities to mitigate climate change. Specific suggestions include tapping into the restorative potential of nature as a therapeutic intervention and promoting proactive or anticipatory coping through climate activism.
Clayton, 2020. Climate anxiety: Psychological responses to climate change.
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A pedagogy of hope promotes self-efficacy, resilience, and agency, as well as climate change activism

These authors focus on children’s need for support in coping with climate change anxiety and offer recommendations on how educators – especially within an Australian context – can use hope-inspired pedagogy to address this need. An approach inspired by hope addresses both the children’s well-being and their contribution to climate change mitigation.
Buchanan, Pressick-Kilborn & Fergusson, 2021. Naturally enough? Children, climate anxiety and the importance of hope.
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Promoting agency and activism may help children cope with climate change

Climate change awareness negatively impacts the mental health of children and youth in several ways. The authors issue a call for urgent action in addressing this concern and offer some recommendations for doing so. They emphasize the importance of acknowledging and building the agency and engagement of children and youth and note how doing so builds resiliency and hope.
Sanson, Van Hoorn & Burke, 2019. Responding to the impacts of the climate crisis on children and youth.
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Specific issues related to climate change and children’s mental health include impact disparities, limited resources for intervention, and the need for more research. Some mental health professionals are even calling for a new field of study, “Clinical Ecopsychology,” to address the overlapping areas of Clinical Psychology and Ecopsychology. This new field of study could be helpful in gaining a better understanding of the mental health impacts and related underlying pathways of climate change anxiety.

Climate change disproportionately impacts poor countries, poor children within these countries, and low-income populations living near the equator

This review of published literature reviews found strong descriptive evidence – but limited quantitative data – that the negative health effects of climate change disproportionately impact people with fewer resources, including less-advantaged children. While most of the reviews focused on adverse physical health effects, three explicitly considered mental health and cognitive development. Related areas of concern include anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and learning disruptions due to displacements.
Arpin et al., 2021. Climate change and child health inequality: A review of reviews.
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Caregivers want to provide emotional support for children regarding climate change, but have limited resources with which to do so 

Online surveys completed by 141 parents and teachers in Australia indicate that children feel anxious about climate change and are interested in talking about it. Over half of the respondents indicated that they did not have enough resources for supporting children through times of environmental/social crises. The study identified an area of concern around the lack of resources available to help parents and teachers address children’s climate anxiety.
Baker, Clayton & Bragg, 2021. Educating for resilience: Parent and teacher perceptions of children’s emotional needs in response to climate change.
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More research is needed to understand the impact of climate change awareness on children’s mental well-being and emotions

This review included 33 relevant articles addressing the impact of climate change awareness on children’s mental well-being and negative emotions. Most of the studies were from Europe, North America, and Australia. While findings indicate that mental well-being and negative emotions from climate change are common among children, the authors note that related work has been theoretical and that several research gaps need to be addressed.
Martin et al., 2022. Review: The impact of climate change awareness on children’s mental well-being and negative emotions – a scoping review.
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Clinical Ecopsychology is proposed as a new field of study to gain a better understanding of the mental health impacts and underlying pathways of ecological adversity

This paper provides a current summary of the adverse mental health impacts of climate change from the perspective of Clinical Psychology, while also issuing a call for a new field of study reflecting an overlap between “Clinical Psychology” and “Ecopsychology.” Aims of this new field – “Clinical Ecopsychology” – include investigating potential protective and resilience factors which may be helpful in promoting mental health in the face of climate and environmental crisis.
Thoma, Rohleder & Rohner, 2021. Clinical Ecopsychology: The mental health impacts and underlying pathways of the climate and environmental crisis.
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Many educational and environmental programs work to actively engage children in environmentally sustainable practices. They often do so with the understanding that engagement in such activities will benefit both the children and the environment. Only a few such programs include a research or evaluation component. While the following studies aren’t specific to climate-related mental health concerns, they do provide some research-based evidence of specific strategies which may promote sustainable behaviors and/or positive nature-related emotional experiences. As such, they may lend some creative thinking about different ways to address climate anxiety in children and youth.

The contribution of nature play to child development and sustainability is extensive and rich

The 32 studies included in this systematic review of the literature reported a total of 98 positive child development outcomes of nature play, with the most frequently reported outcomes relating to connection to nature, care of nature, self-confidence, and self-regulation. When these outcomes were mapped onto desired outcomes of early childhood education for sustainability, nature play was determined to be a valid contributor to sustainability.
Ernst et al., 2021. Contributions to sustainability through young children’s nature play: A systematic review.
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Engaging children in digital storying can support children in expressing and sharing their nature-related emotional experiences

A review of empirical data from a case study of two 8-year-old children at a Finnish primary school indicates that digital storying activities may give children a venue for exploring and communicating their emotional experiences related to nature. The children connected their storying with their own personal local nature experiences, as well as broader global topics such as climate change.
Byman et al., 2022. Children’s emotional experiences in and about nature across temporal–spatial entanglements during digital storying.
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Engaging refugees in nature-based leisure activities may promote their well-being and sense of belonging

This study investigated the impact of nature-based leisure on the well-being of refugees (three from African countries, one from Iran) who had experienced significant personal trauma before arriving in Canada. The refugees – including two women with children – participated in a two-day winter camping experience in northern Canada. Feedback from the participants indicated that they found the experience to be a healthy distraction from their daily lives and that the involvement of children increased the parents’ willingness to try activities.
Hurly & Walker, 2019. “When you see nature, nature give you something inside”: The role of nature-based leisure in fostering refugee well-being in Canada. 
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