A report from the American Psychiatric Association, prepared in collaboration with the climate advocacy organization ecoAmerica, highlights the significant role that climate change plays in affecting the mental health of young people. The report emphasizes that environmental events linked to climate change, including weather disasters, extreme heat, and poor air quality, can trigger or exacerbate mental health issues among children and adolescents.
The report identifies the following mental health consequences of climate change-related events on young people:
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Natural disasters can lead to PTSD in children and teenagers.
Anxiety and Depression: Long-term issues such as heat, drought, and poor air quality can increase the risks of anxiety and depression among young individuals.
Behavioral and Developmental Issues: Prenatal exposure to weather disasters, high temperatures, air pollution, and maternal anxiety can raise a child’s risk of various behavioral and developmental issues, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, developmental delays, low self-control, and psychiatric disorders.
Irreversible Impact: The consequences can affect the development of the nervous system and are often irreversible.
Adolescents’ Concerns: Adolescents and young adults are particularly anxious about climate change and its impacts on their future. Climate-related events and climate anxiety are linked to increased risks of anxiety, depression, strained social relationships, and suicide.
Decision-Making: Climate change could influence young adults in making decisions about their career and relationships. The consequences of extreme weather and climate anxiety can affect decision-making, cognition, and self-control.
Disproportionate Impact: Young people from marginalized or low-income backgrounds, including indigenous communities, communities of color, women, and people with disabilities, are more likely to be exposed to extreme weather and have fewer coping resources.
The report calls for comprehensive measures to limit the impact of climate change on young people’s mental health and emphasizes the urgent need for action to address the psychological harms occurring among children and youth.
Young people are particularly concerned about climate change, as they perceive it as a significant factor affecting their future. The uncertainty about the future in a changing climate landscape and the perceived inaction by governments and authority figures to address climate change contribute to anxiety and distress among young individuals.
The mental health consequences of climate change are a critical concern, and addressing them requires immediate attention from governments, communities, and healthcare systems.
