Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T05:37:42.190Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Children and Climate Change

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 August 2022

Ann V. Sanson
Affiliation:
University of Melbourne
Karina Padilla Malca
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
Judith Van Hoorn
Affiliation:
University of the Pacific, California
Susie Burke
Affiliation:
University of Queensland

Summary

The existential threat posed by climate change presents a challenge to all those concerned about the next generation. This Element reviews and discusses its implications for the development of children (ages 0-12) today and in the future, and for the parents, teachers, researchers, and professionals who have responsibility for children. This Element adopts a bioecological model to examine both the direct impacts on children's physical and psychological well-being as well as indirect impacts through all the systems external to the child, emphasizing the greater vulnerability of children in the Global South. Given evidence of well-founded climate anxiety, this Element examines children's coping strategies and discusses the key roles of caregivers and schools in protecting and preparing children to face current and future challenges – with knowledge, hope, and agency as central themes. This Element highlights many under-researched areas and calls for action by all those caring for and about children's future.
Get access
Type
Element
Information
Online ISBN: 9781009118705
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 22 September 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akpan, N. (2019). How to talk to your kids about climate change. PBS Science. www.pbs.org/newshour/science/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-climate-change.Google Scholar
Akresh, R. (2016). Climate change, conflict, and children. The Future of Children, 26(1), 5171. https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.2016.0003.Google Scholar
Albrecht, G., Sartore, G.‑M., Connor, L. et al. (2007). Solastalgia: The distress caused by environmental change. Australasian Psychiatry: Bulletin of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, 15 Suppl 1, S95S98. https://doi.org/10.1080/10398560701701288.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alston, M., Whittenbury, K., Haynes, A., & Godden, N. (2014). Are climate challenges reinforcing child and forced marriage and dowry as adaptation strategies in the context of Bangladesh? Women’s Studies International Forum, 47, 137–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2014.08.005.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American Public Health Association (APHA). (2019). Making the connection: Climate changes children’s mental health. https://apha.org/climate-changes-health.Google Scholar
Anderko, L., Du, M., & Hauptman, M. (2020). Climate changes reproductive and children’s health: A review of risks, exposures, and impacts. Pediatric Research, 87(2), 414–9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-019-0654-7.Google Scholar
Anthony, D., Miller, P. B., & Yarrish, K. K. (2014). An analysis of initial global citizenship in a liberal arts college in northeastern Pennsylvania. Journal of International Education Research (JIER), 10(1), 2328. https://doi.org/10.19030/jier.v10i1.8346.Google Scholar
Apollo, A., & Mbah, M. F. (2021). Challenges and opportunities for climate change education (CCE) in East Africa: A critical review. Climate, 9(6), 93. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli9060093.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Australian Conservation Foundation, & One Million Women. (11 February 2019). New survey shows women will change their lives – and votes – for climate action. www.acf.org.au/women_will_change_their_lives_and_votes_for_climate_action.Google Scholar
Australian Psychological Society (APS). (2016). Tips for talking with and helping children and young people cope after tragic events: Guidelines for parents, caregivers and teachers. https://psychology.org.au/getmedia/a61fcf9d-dc4c-40f3-b94d-65995c85995b/helping-children-affected-tragic-events.pdf.Google Scholar
Society, Australian Psychological. (2017). The climate change empowerment handbook: Psychological strategies to tackle climate change. https://psychology.org.au/getmedia/88ee1716-2604-44ce-b87a-ca0408dfaa12/climate-change-empowerment-handbook.pdf.Google Scholar
Society, Australian Psychological. (2018a). A guide for parents about the climate crisis. Melbourne. www.psychology.org.au/getmedia/f7d0974d-4424-4d60-a7eb-cfa0431b6860/Parents-guide-climate-crisis.pdf.Google Scholar
Society, Australian Psychological. (2018b). Raising children to thrive in a climate changed world. www.psychology.org.au/getmedia/e8cda6ca-ecfe-42c7-8538-492950bac8ba/Raising-children-climate.pdf.Google Scholar
Bang, M., Marin, A., Medin, D., & Washinawatok, K. (2015). Learning by observing, pitching in, and being in relations in the natural world. In Correa-Chávez, M., Mejía-Arauz, R., & Rogoff, B. (Eds.), Children learn by observing and contributing to family and community endeavors: A cultural paradigm (Advances in Child Development and Behavior Vol. 49, pp. 303–13). Academic Press.Google Scholar
Back, E., Cameron, C., & Tanner, T. (2009). Children and disaster risk reduction. Taking stock and moving forward. Children in a Changing Climate Coalition. Brighton: Institute of Developmental Studies. https://www.preventionweb.net/files/15093_12085ChildLedDRRTakingStock1.pdfGoogle Scholar
Barrera-Hernández, L., Sotelo-Castillo, M., Echeverría-Castro, S., & Tapia-Fonllem, C. (2020). Connectedness to nature: Its impact on sustainable behaviors and happiness in children. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 276. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00276.Google Scholar
Bell, J., Poushter, J., Fagan, M., & Huang, C. (14 September 2021). In response to climate change, citizens in advanced economies are willing to alter how they live and work. Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project. www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/09/14/in-response-to-climate-change-citizens-in-advanced-economies-are-willing-to-alter-how-they-live-and-work/.Google Scholar
Benoit, L., Thomas, I., & Martin, A. (2021). Review: Ecological awareness, anxiety, and actions among youth and their parents – A qualitative study of newspaper narratives. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 27(1), 4758. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12514.Google Scholar
Bernard van Leer Foundation. (2021). Early childhood matters: The climate issue. Caring for children and the planet. Bernard van Leer Foundation.Google Scholar
Berse, K. (2017). Climate change from the lens of Malolos children: Perception, impact and adaptation. Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, 26(2), 217–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biswas, A., Rahman, A., Mashreky, S., Rahman, F., & Dalal, K. (2010). Unintentional injuries and parental violence against children during flood: A study in rural Bangladesh. Rural and Remote Health, 10(1), 1199.Google Scholar
Blakstad, M. M., & Smith, E. R. (2020). Climate change worsens global inequity in maternal nutrition. The Lancet Planetary Health, 4(12), e547–8.Google Scholar
Bornstein, M. H. (2015). Children’s parents. In Lerner, R. M. (Ed), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science. (7th ed., Vol. 4, pp. 178). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118963418.childpsy403Google Scholar
Bornstein, M. H. (2021). Introduction: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: Issues for families, parents, and children. In Bornstein, M. H. (Ed.), Psychological insights for understanding COVID-19 and families, parents, and children (pp. 169). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.Google Scholar
Breuer, J., & Freud, S. (2001). Studies on hysteria. In Strachey, J. (Ed. & Trans.), The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 2, pp. 3309). Hogarth Press. (Original work published in 1895.)Google Scholar
Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. A. (1998). The ecology of developmental processes. In Damon, W. & Lerner, R. M. (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology. Theoretical models of human development (5th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 9931028). Wiley.Google Scholar
Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In Damon, W. & Lerner, R. M. (Eds., Series) & Lerner, R. M. (Vol. Ed.), Handbook of child psychology. Theoretical models of human development (6th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 793828). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470147658.chpsy0114.Google Scholar
Burke, S., Sanson, A., & Van Hoorn, J. (2018). The psychological effects of climate change on children. Current Psychiatry Reports, 20(5), 18. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-018-0896-9.Google Scholar
Chawla, L. (2020). Childhood nature connection and constructive hope: A review of research on connecting with nature and coping with environmental loss. People and Nature, 2(3), 619642. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10128.Google Scholar
Chawla, L., & Derr, V. (2012). The development of conservation behaviors in childhood and youth. In Clayton, S. (Ed.), Oxford library of psychology: The Oxford handbook of environmental and conservation psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 527–55). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199733026.013.0028.Google Scholar
Chhokar, K., Dua, S., Taylor, N., Boyes, E., & Stanisstreet, M. (2011). Indian secondary students’ views about global warming: Beliefs about the usefulness of actions and willingness to act. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 9(5), 1167–88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-010-9254-z.Google Scholar
Clarke, A. T. (2006). Coping with interpersonal stress and psychosocial health among children and adolescents: A meta-analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35(1), 1124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-005-9001-x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clayton, S. (2020). Climate anxiety: Psychological responses to climate change. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 74, 102263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102263.Google Scholar
Clayton, S., Manning, C., Krygsman, K., & Speiser, M. (2017). Mental health and our changing climate: Impacts, implications, and guidance. American Psychological Association/ecoAmerica.https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/03/mental-health-climate.pdfGoogle Scholar
Coffey, Y., Bhullar, N., Durkin, J., Islam, M. S., & Usher, K. (2021). Understanding eco-anxiety: A systematic scoping review of current literature and identified knowledge gaps. The Journal of Climate Change and Health, 3, 100047. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joclim.2021.100047Google Scholar
Cohen, J., Agel, L., Barlow, M., Garfinkel, C. I., & White, I. (2021). Linking Arctic variability and change with extreme winter weather in the United States. Science, 373(6559), 1116–21 https://10.1126/science.abi9167Google Scholar
Cripps, E. (2017). Do parents have a special duty to mitigate climate change? Politics, Philosophy & Economics, 16(3), 308–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470594X17709038CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cuevas-Parra, P. (2020). ‘Talk less and act more, the world needs help’: Children front and centre of climate action. World Vision.www.wvi.org/publications/report/climate-change/talk-less-and-act-more-world-needs-help-children-front-and.Google Scholar
Cunsolo, A., Harper, S. L., Minor, K. et al. (2020). Ecological grief and anxiety: The start of a healthy response to climate change? The Lancet Planetary Health, 4(7), e261e263. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30144-3Google Scholar
Devonald, M., Jones, N., & Yadete, W. (2020). ‘The first thing that I fear for my future is lack of rain and drought’: Climate change and its impacts on adolescent capabilities in low- and middle-income countries. Gender and Adolescence.Google Scholar
Dewi, L. P., & Dartanto, T. (2019). Natural disasters and girls vulnerability: Is child marriage a coping strategy of economic shocks in Indonesia? Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 14(1), 2435. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450128.2018.1546025Google Scholar
Dodds, J. (2021). The psychology of climate anxiety. BJPsych Bulletin, 45(4), 222–6. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2021.18Google Scholar
Druckerman, P. (2021). Interview with Xoli Fuyani: ‘I firmly believe that we should engage with children when they are young’. In Leer Foundation, Bernard van (Ed.), Early childhood matters: The climate issue. Caring for children and the planet (pp. 120–3). Bernard van Leer Foundation.Google Scholar
Earle, L. (2021). Climate change is forcing young children into high-risk urban slums. In Bernard van Leer Foundation, Early childhood matters: The climate issue. Caring for children and the planet (pp. 2830).Google Scholar
Eklund, F., & Nylén, K. (2021). Talk to children about the climate crisis: A guide for parents and other adults. Our Kids Climate. https://media.ourkidsclimate.org/2021/06/Talk-about-climate-guide-for-parents-2021-06-01.pdfGoogle Scholar
Engdahl, I. (2015). Early childhood education for sustainability: The OMEP world project. International Journal of Early Childhood, 47(3), 347–66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-015-0149-6Google Scholar
Escobar, L. (20 January 2021). Normal life washed away in Guatemala hurricanes in late 2020 were a double blow to a country already reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. UNICEF [Press release]. www.unicef.org/lac/en/stories/normal-life-washed-away-in-guatemalaGoogle Scholar
Evans, G. W., Otto, S., & Kaiser, F. G. (2018). Childhood origins of young adult environmental behavior. Psychological Science, 29(5),679–87. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617741894Google Scholar
Folkman, S. (2008). The case for positive emotions in the stress process. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 21(1), 314. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615800701740457Google Scholar
Full Option Science System (FOSS). (2017). Taking FOSS outdoors. Regents of the University of California.Google Scholar
Fuller, M. G., Cavanaugh, N., Green, S., & Duderstadt, K. (2021). Climate change and state of the science for children’s health and environmental health equity. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 36(1), 20–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedhc.2021.08.003Google Scholar
Gallay, E., Furlan Brighente, M., Flanagan, C., & Lowenstein, E. (2022). Place-based civic science-collective environmental action and solidarity for eco-resilience. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 27(1), 3946. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.1237Google Scholar
Gaziulusoy, A. İ. (2020). The experiences of parents raising children in times of climate change: Towards a caring research agenda. Current Research in Environmental Sustainability, 2, 100017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsust.2020.100017Google Scholar
Gibbons, E. (2014) Climate change, children’s rights, and the pursuit of intergenerational climate justice. Health & Human Rights Journal, 16, 19.Google Scholar
Gibbs, L., Block, K., Harms, L. et al. (2015). Children and young people’s well-being post-disaster: Safety and stability are critical. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 14, 195201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2015.06.006Google Scholar
Gibbs, L., Nursey, J., Cook, J. et al. (2019). Delayed disaster impacts on academic performance of primary school children. Child Development, 90(4), 1402–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13200CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibson, K., Haslam, N., & Kaplan, I. (2019). Distressing encounters in the context of climate change: Idioms of distress, determinants, and responses to distress in Tuvalu. Transcultural Psychiatry, 56(4), 667–96. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461519847057Google Scholar
Gifford, R. (2011). The dragons of inaction: Psychological barriers that limit climate change mitigation and adaptation. American Psychologist, 66(4), 290302. https://doi:10.1037/a0023566Google Scholar
Giusti, M., Svane, U., Raymond, C. M., & Beery, T. H. (2018). A framework to assess where and how children connect to nature. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 2283. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02283Google Scholar
Global Action Plan UK & Unilever. (2021). Generation action: How to unleash the potential of children and young people to take positive action and create a better world for all. Global Action Plan UK. www.globalactionplan.org.uk/files/generation_action_white_paper.pdfGoogle Scholar
Godden, N. J., Farrant, B. M., Yallup Farrant, J. et al. (2021). Climate change, activism, and supporting the mental health of children and young people: Perspectives from Western Australia. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 57(11), 1759–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpc.15649Google Scholar
Gottman, J., & Declaire, J. (1998). Raising an emotionally intelligent child: The heart of parenting. (1st ed.) Fireside.Google Scholar
Goumandakoye, M., & Munang, R. (2014). Engaging children in African climate change discourse. In UNICEF (Ed.), The challenges of climate change: Children on the front line. (Innocenti Insight). (pp. 72–4). UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti.Google Scholar
Gray, E. (20 August 2018) Unexpected future boost of methane possible from Arctic permafrost. NASA. www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/unexpected-future-boost-of-methane-possible-from-arctic-permafrostGoogle Scholar
Green, C. (2018) Children’s environmental identity development: Negotiating inner and outer tensions in natural world socialization. Peter Lang Incorporated, International AcademicGoogle Scholar
Grumbach, E. (2019). From facts to solutions. Science and Children, 56(5), 3441.Google Scholar
Guarcello, L., Mealli, F., & Rosati, F. C. (2010). Household vulnerability and child labor: The effect of shocks, credit rationing, and insurance. Journal of Population Economics, 23(1), 169–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hahn, E. R. (2021). The developmental roots of environmental stewardship: Childhood and the climate change crisis. Current Opinion in Psychology, 42, 1924. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.01.006Google Scholar
Hanna, R., & Oliva, P. (2016). Implications of climate change for children in developing countries. The Future of Children, 26(1), 115–32. https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.2016.0006Google Scholar
Harker-Schuch, I., Lade, S., Mills, F., & Colvin, R. (2021). Opinions of 12 to 13-year-olds in Austria and Australia on the concern, cause and imminence of climate change. Ambio, 50(3), 644–60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-020-01356-2Google Scholar
Harris, K., & Hawrylyshyn, K. (2012). Climate extremes and child rights in South Asia: A neglected priority. Project Briefing, 78. Overseas Development Institute.Google Scholar
Harris, P. L. (2012). Trusting what you’re told: How children learn from others. Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Hart, R., Fisher, S., & Kimiagar, B. (2014). Beyond projects: Involving children in community governance as a fundamental strategy for facing climate change. In Office, UNICEF of Research (Ed.), The challenges of climate change: Children on the front line (pp. 92–7). Florence: UNICEF.Google Scholar
Harville, E. W., Taylor, C. A., Tesfai, H., Xiong, X., & Buekens, P. (2011). Experience of Hurricane Katrina and reported intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26(4), 833–45.Google Scholar
Hawkins, M. T., Letcher, P., Sanson, A., Smart, D., & Toumbourou, J. W. (2009). Positive development in emerging adulthood. Australian Journal of Psychology, 61(2), 8999. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530802001346Google Scholar
Hickman, C., Marks, E., Pihkala, P. et al. (2021). Young people’s voices on climate anxiety, government betrayal and moral injury: A global phenomenon. Lancet Planetary Health, 5(12), e863e873. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00278-3.Google Scholar
Hobfoll, S. E., Watson, P., Bell, C. C. et al. (2007). Five essential elements of immediate and mid-term mass trauma intervention: Empirical evidence. Psychiatry, 70(4), 283315. https://doi.org/10.1521/psyc.2007.70.4.283Google Scholar
Hossain, S. (2020). Salinity and miscarriage: Is there a link? Impact of climate change in coastal areas of Bangladesh – a systematic review. European Journal of Environment and Public Health, 4(1), em0036. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejeph/6291Google Scholar
Ingle, H. E., & Mikulewicz, M. (2020). Mental health and climate change: Tackling invisible injustice. The Lancet Planetary Health, 4(4), e128e130. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30081-4Google Scholar
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (3 November 2021). Sixth Assessment Report: AR6 Climate Change 2021. The Physical Science Basis. www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/Google Scholar
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. (2019). Nature’s dangerous decline ‘unprecedented:’ Species extinction rates ‘accelerating.’ [Press release]. www.ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-AssessmentGoogle Scholar
International Labour Office & United Nations Children’s Fund. (2021). Child labour: Global estimates 2020 , trends and the road forward. ILO www.ilo.org/ipec/Informationresources/WCMS_797515/lang–en/index.htmGoogle Scholar
Kagawa, F., & Selby, D. (2010). Introduction. In Kagawa, F. & Selby, D. (Eds.), Education and climate change: Living and learning in interesting times (pp. 111). Routledge.Google Scholar
Karpudewan, M., Roth, W.-M., & Abdullah, M. N. S. B. (2015). Enhancing primary school students’ knowledge about global warming and environmental attitude using climate change activities. International Journal of Science Education, 37(1), 3154. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2014.958600Google Scholar
Kielland, A., & Kebede, T. A. (2020). Drought vulnerability and child mobility in rural Senegal. Forum for Development Studies, 47(3), 119, 427–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2020.1739122Google Scholar
Krishna, R. N., Majeed, S., Ronan, K., & Alisic, E. (2018). Coping with disasters while living in poverty: A systematic review. Journal of Loss and Trauma: Adversity in the Asia Pacific Region: Challenges Facing Health and Society, 23(5), 419–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2017.1415724Google Scholar
Krishna, R. N., Ronan, K. R., & Alisic, E. (2018). Children in the 2015 South Indian floods: Community members’ views. European Journal of Psychotraumatology: Children and Disasters, 9(Suppl 2), 1486122–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2018.1486122Google Scholar
Kulig, J. C., & Dabravolskaj, J. (2020). The psychosocial impacts of wildland fires on children, adolescents and family functioning: A scoping review. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 29(2), 93103.Google Scholar
Kulig, J. C., Townshend, I., Botey, A. P., & Shepard, B (2018). ‘Hope is in our hands’: Impacts of the Slave Lake wildfires in Alberta, Canada on children. In Szente, J. (Ed.), Assisting young children caught in disasters. Educating the young child (Advances in Theory and Research, Implications for Practice) (Vol. 13, pp. 143–56.). Springer-Cham.Google Scholar
Kumar, S., Molitor, R., & Vollmer, S. (2016). Drought and early child health in rural India. Population and Development Review, 41(1), 5368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lai, B. S., Osborne, M. C., Piscitello, J., Self-Brown, S., & Kelley, M. L. (2018). The relationship between social support and posttraumatic stress symptoms among youth exposed to a natural disaster. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 9(Suppl 2), 1450042. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2018.1450042Google Scholar
Landis-Hanley, J. (25 October 2021). Young Australians lodge human rights complaints with UN over alleged government inaction on climate. The Guardian. www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/oct/25/young-australians-lodge-human-rights-complaints-with-un-over-alleged-government-inaction-on-climateGoogle Scholar
Lawson, D. F., Stevenson, K. T., Peterson, M. N. et al. (2019). Children can foster climate change concern among their parents. Nature Climate Change, 9(6), 458–62. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-019-0463-3Google Scholar
Lawton, G. (11 October 2019). Labeling eco-anxiety as ‘an illness’ means climate denialists have won. https://coffscoastoutlook.com.au/labeling-eco-anxiety-as-an-illness-means-climate-denialists-have-won/Google Scholar
Lazarus, R., & Folkman, S. (1984) Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer.Google Scholar
Lee, K., & Barnett, J. (2020). ‘Will polar bears melt?’ A qualitative analysis of children’s questions about climate change. Public Understanding of Science, 29(8), 868–80. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662520952999Google Scholar
Lee, K., Gjersoe, N., O’Neill, S., & Barnett, J. (2020). Youth perceptions of climate change: A narrative synthesis. WIREs Climate Change, 11(3), e641. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.641Google Scholar
Leleto, N. L., & Rehse, E. (2021). How climate change affects pregnancy and early childhood in an indigenous Kenyan village. In Bernard van Leer Foundation (Ed.), Early Childhood Matters: The Climate Issue. Caring for children and the planet. (pp. 45–7). Bernard van Leer Foundation.Google Scholar
Leppold, C., Gibbs, L., Block, K., Reifels, L., & Quinn, P. (2022). Public health implications of multiple disaster exposures. The Lancet Public Health, 7(3), e274e286, https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00255-3Google Scholar
Lerner, R. M., Almerigi, J. B., & Lerner, J. V. (2005). Positive youth development A view of the issues. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 25(1), 1016. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431604273211Google Scholar
Louv, R. (2021). There are huge risks in raising children under what amounts to protective house arrest. In Bernard van Leer Foundation (Ed.), Early childhood matters: The climate issue. Caring for children and the planet. (pp. 72–4). Bernard van Leer Foundation.Google Scholar
MacDonald, J. P., Cunsolo Willox, A., Ford, J. D. et al. (2015). Protective factors for mental health and well-being in a changing climate: Perspectives from Inuit youth in Nunatsiavut, Labrador. Social Science & Medicine, 141, 133–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.07.017Google Scholar
Macy, J., & Johnstone, C. (2012). Active hope: How to face the mess we’re in without going crazy. World Library. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/gbv/detail.action?docID=5840728.Google Scholar
Marazziti, D., Cianconi, P., Mucci, F. et al. (2021). Climate change, environment pollution, COVID-19 pandemic and mental health. The Science of the Total Environment, 773, 145182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145182Google Scholar
Marin, A., & Bang, M. (2018). ‘Look it, this is how you know’: Family forest walks as a context for knowledge-building about the natural world. Cognition and Instruction, 36(2), 89118. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2018.1429443Google Scholar
Martinez, K. G. (2020). Climate change and hurricanes: The effect of hurricane-related stress on infant temperament. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 59(10), S39–S39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2020.07.163Google Scholar
Masten, A. S. (2014). Ordinary magic: Resilience in development. Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S. (2018). Schools nurture resilience of children and societies. Green Schools Catalyst Quarterly, 3(3), 1419.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S. (2021). Resilience in developmental systems. In Masten, A. S. (Ed.), Multisystemic resilience (pp. 113-34). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S., & Cicchetti, D. (2016). Resilience in development: Progress and transformation. In Cicchetti, D. (Ed.), Developmental psychopathology (3rd Ed., pp. 271333). Wiley.Google Scholar
Maternowska, M. C., Potts, A., Fry, D., & Casey, T (2018). Research that drives change: Conceptualizing and conducting nationally led violence prevention research. Synthesis report of the ‘Multi-Country Study on the Drivers of Violence Affecting Children’ in Italy, Peru, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe. UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti.Google Scholar
McDonald‐Harker, C., Bassi, E. M., & Haney, T. J. (2022). ‘We need to do something about this’: Children’s and youth’s post‐disaster views on climate change and environmental crisis. Sociological Inquiry, 92(1), 533. https://doi.org/10.1111/soin.12381Google Scholar
McMichael, A. (2014). Climate change and children: Health risks of abatement inaction, health gains from action. Children, 1, 99106.Google Scholar
Milman, O. (2021). Rising heat poses dire risks to small children. In Bernard van Leer Foundation (Ed.), Early Childhood Matters: The climate issue. Caring for children and the planet (pp. 31–3). Bernard van Leer Foundation.Google Scholar
Molina, O., & Saldarriaga, V. (2017). The perils of climate change: In utero exposure to temperature variability and birth outcomes in the Andean region. Economics and Human Biology, 24, 111–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2016.11.009Google Scholar
Monroe, M. C., Plate, R. R., Oxarart, A., Bowers, A., & Chaves, W. A. (2019). Identifying effective climate change education strategies: A systematic review of the research. Environmental Education Research, 25(6), 791812. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2017.1360842Google Scholar
Morais, D. B., & Ogden, A. C. (2011). Initial development and validation of the Global Citizenship Scale. Journal of Studies in International Education, 15(5), 445–66. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315310375308Google Scholar
Muhirwa, F. (2020). Environmental education profile in Rwanda. Huye- Uganda Protestant Institute of Arts and Social Sciences, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management.Google Scholar
Naylor, K. A. (2021). Climate change-induced water insecurity endangers children. In Bernard Van Leer Foundation (Ed.), Early Childhood Matters: The climate issue. Caring for children and the planet, (pp. 1417). Bernard van Leer Foundation.Google Scholar
Newell, P., Daley, F., & Twena, M. (2022). Changing our ways: Behaviour change and the climate crisis. Elements in Earth system governance. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ochieng, M. A., & Koske, J. (2013). The level of climate change awareness and perception among primary school teachers in Kisumu municipality, Kenya. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 3(21), 174–9.Google Scholar
O’Connor, M., Sanson, A., Hawkins, M. T. et al. (2011). Predictors of positive development in emerging adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(7), 860–74. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9593-7Google Scholar
Ojala, M. (2012a). How do children cope with global climate change? Coping strategies, engagement, and well-being. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 32(3), 225–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2012.02.004Google Scholar
Ojala, M. (2012b). Regulating worry, promoting hope: How do children, adolescents, and young adults cope with climate change? International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 7(4), 537–61.Google Scholar
Ojala, M. (2013). Coping with climate change among adolescents: Implications for subjective wellbeing and environmental engagement. Sustainability 5 (5), 2191–209. https://doi.org/10.3390/su5052191.Google Scholar
Ojala, M. (2015). Hope in the face of climate change: Associations with environmental engagement and student perceptions of teachers’ emotion communication style and future orientation. The Journal of Environmental Education, 46(3), 133–48.Google Scholar
Ojala, M. (2016a). Preparing children for the emotional challenges of climate change: A review of the research. In Winograd, K. (Ed.), Education in times of environmental crises (pp. 210–8). Routledge.Google Scholar
Ojala, M. (2016b). Young people and global climate change: Emotions, coping, and engagement in everyday life. In Ansell, N., Klocker, N. & Skelton, T. (Eds.), Geographies of global issues: Change and threat: Geographies of children and young people (pp. 119). Springer Science + Business Media.Google Scholar
Ojala, M. (2021). Commentary: Climate change worry among adolescents – On the importance of going beyond the constructive-unconstructive dichotomy to explore coping efforts – a commentary on Sciberras and Fernando (2021). Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 27(1), 8991. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12530Google Scholar
Ojala, M., & Bengtsson, H. (2019). Young people’s coping strategies concerning climate change: Relations to perceived communication with parents and friends and pro environmental behavior. Environment and Behavior, 51(8), pp. 907–35. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916518763894CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Otto, S., & Pensini, P. (2017). Nature-based environmental education of children: Environmental knowledge and connectedness to nature, together, are related to ecological behaviour. Global Environmental Change, 47, pp. 8894. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.09.009Google Scholar
Otto, S., Evans, G. W., Moon, M. J., & Kaiser, F. G. (2019). The development of children’s environmental attitude and behavior. Global Environmental Change, 58, 101947. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.101947CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Our Children’s Trust. (2018). Colombia. Demanda generaciones futuras. MINAMBIENTE. https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/colombia-global-summary.Google Scholar
Pacheco, S. E. (2020). Catastrophic effects of climate change on children’s health start before birth. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 130(2), 562–4. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI135005Google Scholar
Padilla, K., & Bernheim, R. (2020). Act now: Experiences and recommendations of girls and boys during COVID-19. World Vision International. www.wvi.org/publications/report/coronavirus-health-crisis/act-now-experiences-and-recommendations-girls-and-0Google Scholar
Peek, L., Abramson, D. M., Cox, R. S., Fothergill, A., & Tobin, J. (2018). Children and disasters. In Rodríguez, H., Donner, W., & Trainor, J. E. (Eds.), Handbook of Disaster Research, (2nd Ed., pp. 243–62). Springer.Google Scholar
Pereznieto, P., Rivett, J., Le Masson, V., George, R., & Marcurs, R. (2020). Ending violence against children while addressing the global climate crisis. World Vision International. https://odi.org/en/publications/ending-violence-against-children-while-addressing-the-global-climate-crisis/.Google Scholar
Petersen, A. C., Koller, S. H., Motti-Stefandi, F., & Verma, S. (2017). Positive youth development in global contexts of social and economic change. Routledge.Google Scholar
Pfefferbaum, B., Varma, V., Nitiéma, P., & Newman, E. (2014). Universal preventive interventions for children in the context of disasters and terrorism. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 23(2), 363–82, ix–x. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2013.12.006Google Scholar
Pihkala, P. (2020). Eco-anxiety and environmental education. Sustainability, 12(23), 10149. https://doi.org/10.3390/su122310149Google Scholar
Polack, E. (2010). Child rights and climate change adaptation: Voices from Kenya and Cambodia. Institute of Development Studies, Plan International. https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/document/child-rights-and-climate-change-adaptation-voices-kenya-and-cambodia/Google Scholar
Putnick, D. L., & Bornstein, M. H. (2016). Girls’ and boys’ labor and household chores in low- and middle-income countries. Monograph of the Society for Research in Child Development, 81, 104–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/mono.12228Google Scholar
Reid, A. (2019). Climate change education and research: Possibilities and potentials versus problems and perils? Environmental Education Research, 25(6), 767–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2019.1664075Google Scholar
Rello, R. L., & Ackers, J. (2020). Rising to the challenge: Youth perspectives on climate change and education in South Asia. UNICEF. www.unicef.org/rosa/reports/rising-challengeGoogle Scholar
Ronan, K. R., & Jhonston, D. M. (2005). Promoting community resilience in disasters the role for schools, youth, and families. Springer.Google Scholar
Rousell, D., & Cutter-Mackenzie-Knowles, A. (2019). A systematic review of climate change education: Giving children and young people a ‘voice’ and a ‘hand’ in redressing climate change. Children’s Geographies, 18(2), 191208. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2019.1614532Google Scholar
Rubenstein, B. L., & Stark, L. (2017). The impact of humanitarian emergencies on the prevalence of violence against children: An evidence-based ecological framework. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 22(sup1), 5866. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2016.1271949Google Scholar
Sanson, A., & Bellemo, M. (2021). Children and youth in the climate crisis. BJPsych Bulletin, 45(4), 205–9. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2021.16Google Scholar
Sanson, A., Wachs, T. D., Koller, S. H., & Salmela-Aro, K. (2018). Young people and climate change: The role of developmental science. In S. Verma, S. & Petersen, A. C. (Eds.), Developmental science and sustainable development goals for children and youth. Social Indicators Research Series, 74 (pp. 115–38). Springer.Google Scholar
Sanson, A. V., & Burke, S. (2019). Climate change and children: An issue of intergenerational justice. In Balvin, N. & Christie, D. J. (Eds.), Children and peace: From research to action (pp. 343–62). Springer.Google Scholar
Sanson, A. V., Burke, S., & Van Hoorn, J. (2018). Climate change: Implications for parents and parenting. Parenting, 18(3), 200–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2018.1465307Google Scholar
Sanson, A. V., Padilla Malca, K. V., & Van Hoorn, J. (2022). Impact of the climate crisis on children’s social development. In P. K. Smith, & Hart, C. H. (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of childhood social development, 3rd Ed. (pp. 206–23). Wiley.Google Scholar
Sanson, A. V., Van Hoorn, J., & Burke, S. (2019). Responding to the impacts of the climate crisis on children and youth. Child Development Perspectives, 13(4), 201–7. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12342Google Scholar
Schoon, I. (2021). A sociological development systems approach for the study of human resilience. In Ungar, M. (Ed.), Multisystemic resilience. Processes in research and practice: Adaptation and transformation in contexts of change (pp. 335–60). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Scott, B. G., Lapré, G. E., Marsee, M. A., & Weems, C. F (2014). Aggressive behavior and its associations with posttraumatic stress and academic achievement following a natural disaster. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 43(1), 4350. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2013.807733Google Scholar
Shinn, L. (2019). Your guide to talking with kids of all ages about climate change. www.nrdc.org/stories/your-guide-talking-kids-all-ages-about-climate-changeGoogle Scholar
Skanavis, C., & Kounani, A. (2018). Children communicating on climate change: The case of a summer camp at a Greek island. In Leal Filho, W., Manolas, E., Azul, A. M., Azeiteiro, U. M., & McGhie, H. (Eds.), Handbook of climate change communication (Vol. 3, pp. 113130). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70479-1_7Google Scholar
Sobel, D. (2008). Children and nature. Stenhouse Books.Google Scholar
Songok, C. K., Kipkorir, E. C., Mugalavai, E. M., Kwonyike, A. C., & Ng’weno, C. (2011). Improving the participation of agro-pastoralists in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction policy formulation: A case study from Keiyo district, Kenya. In Leal Filho, W. (Ed.), Experiences of climate change adaptation in Africa (pp. 5568). Springer.Google Scholar
Steffen, W., Fenwick, J., & Rice, M. (2018). Trajectories of the earth system in the Anthropocene. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115(33), 8252–9. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1810141115Google Scholar
Steffen, W., Fenwick, J., & Rice, M. (2016). Land carbon: No substitute for action on fossil fuels. Climate Council of Australia. www.climatecouncil.org.au/uploads/aadc6ea123523a46102e2be45bfcedc8.pdfGoogle Scholar
Stevenson, K., & Peterson, N. (2016). Motivating action through fostering climate change hope and concern and avoiding despair among adolescents. Sustainability, 8(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8010006Google Scholar
Stough, L. M., Ducy, E. M., & Kang, D. (2017). Addressing the needs of children with disabilities experiencing disaster or terrorism. Current Psychiatry Reports, 19(4), p. 1.Google Scholar
Swaminathan, A., Lucas, R. M., Harley, D., & McMichael, A. J. (2014). Will global climate change alter fundamental human immune reactivity: Implications for child health? Children, 1(3), 403–23. https://doi.org/10.3390/children1030403Google Scholar
Taylor, M., Watts, J., & Bartlett, J. (27 September 2019). Climate crisis: 6 million people join latest wave of global protests. The Guardian. www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/27/climate-crisis-6-million-people-join-latest-wave-of-worldwide-protests.Google Scholar
Thiery, W., Lange, S., Rogelj, J. et al. (2021). Intergenerational inequities in exposure to climate extremes. Science, 374(6564), 158–60. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abi7339Google Scholar
Tillmann, S., Tobin, D., Avison, W., & Gilliland, J. (2018). Mental health benefits of interactions with nature in children and teenagers: A systematic review. Journal of Epidemiological Community Health, 72, pp. 958–66. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2018-210436Google Scholar
Towers, B., Christianson, A. C., & Eriksen, C. (2020). Impacts of wildfire on children. In Manzello, S. L. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of wildfires and wildland-urban interface (WUI) fires (pp. 684–92). Springer.Google Scholar
Trombley, J., Chalupka, S., & Anderko, L. (2017). Climate change and mental health. The American Journal of Nursing, 117(4), 4452. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0000515232.51795.faGoogle Scholar
Trott, C. D. (2019). Reshaping our world: Collaborating with children for community-based climate change action. Action Research, 17(1), 4262. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476750319829209Google Scholar
Tudge, J. R. H. (2008). The everyday lives of young children: Culture, class, and child rearing in diverse societies. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Nations, United. (1989). Convention on the rights of the child. United Nations Treaty Series, 1577(3). https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-childGoogle Scholar
Nations, United. (9 August 2021). Guterres: The IPCC Report is a code red for humanity [Press release]. www.un.org/press/en/2021/sgsm20847.doc.htmGoogle Scholar
United Nations CC: Learn. (2013). Resource guide for advanced learning on: Integrating climate change in education at primary and secondary level. www.uncclearn.org/wp-content/uploads/library/resource_guide_on_integrating_cc_in_education_primary_and_secondary_level.pdf.Google Scholar
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. (2021). Learn for our planet: A global review of how environmental issues are integrated into education. Paris UNESCO (Education 2030). https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000377362.Google Scholar
United Nations Children’s Fund. (2014). The challenges of climate change: Children on the front line. Florence: UNICEF Office of Research. www.unicef-irc.org/publications/716-the-challenges-of-climate-change-children-on-the-front-line.htmlGoogle Scholar
United Nations Children’s Fund. (2021a). The climate crisis is a child rights crisis. Introducing the Children’s Climate Risk Index. https://www.unicef.org/reports/climate-crisis-child-rights-crisisGoogle Scholar
United Nations Children’s Fund. (18 August 2021b). UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore’s remarks at the launch of UNICEF’s first child-focused climate risk index with Greta Thunberg and other youth activists [Press release]. www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-executive-director-henrietta-fores-remarks-launch-unicefs-first-child-focused United Nations Children’s Fund. (20 January 2021c). Normal life washed away in Guatemala. https://www.unicef.org/lac/en/stories/normal-life-washed-away-in-guatemalaGoogle Scholar
United Nations Children’s Fund, United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth, World Vision International, Plan International, & Save the Children. (2020). Guardians of the planet: Asia Pacific children and youth voices on climate crisis and disaster risk reduction. UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office.Google Scholar
United Nations News. (25 January 2019). Climate change recognized as ‘threat multiplier’, UN Security Council debates its impact on peace. https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/01/1031322Google Scholar
United Nations News. (31 March 2020). UN launches COVID-19 plan that could ‘defeat the virus and build a better world’. https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/03/1060702.Google Scholar
United Nations Secretary General. (31 March 2020). Opening remarks at virtual press encounter to launch the Report on the Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19. United Nations Secretary-General [Press release]. www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2020-03-31/remarks-launch-of-report-the-socio-economic-impacts-of-covid-19Google Scholar
Van Nieuwenhuizen, A., Hudson, K., Chen, X., & Hwong, A. R. (2021). The effects of climate change on child and adolescent mental health: Clinical considerations. Current Psychiatry Reports, 23(12), 88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-021-01296-yGoogle Scholar
Watts, J. (3 November 2020). Portuguese children sue 33 countries over climate change at European court. The Guardian. www.theguardian.com/law/2020/sep/03/portuguese-children-sue-33-countries-over-climate-change-at-european-court.Google Scholar
Wiseman, J. (2021). Hope and courage in the climate crisis: Wisdom and action in the long emergency. Springer Nature.Google Scholar
Wu, J., Snell, G., & Samji, H. (2020). Climate anxiety in young people: A call to action. The Lancet Planetary Health, 4(10), e435e436. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30223-0Google Scholar
Yelland, C., Robinson, P., Lock, C. et al. (2010). Bushfire impact on youth. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 23(2), 274–7. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20521Google Scholar

Save element to Kindle

To save this element to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Children and Climate Change
Available formats
×

Save element to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Children and Climate Change
Available formats
×

Save element to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Children and Climate Change
Available formats
×