CLEMA - Climate Change and Mental Health in Adolescents
What's this study about?
As young people will be confronted with the long-term consequences of climate change, it is of great importance to better understand what attitudes and knowledge they have about climate change, how they react to climate change and what factors can motivate them to act in an environmentally friendly way. Previous studies have already investigated climate anxiety, pro-climate behaviour, attitudes and coping strategies in relation to climate change. For example, research suggests that greater awareness of climate change can lead to various negative emotional reactions. However, no study to date has examined the relationships between climate anxiety and various psychological distress (such as anxiety, depressive symptoms and distress) and transdiagnostic mechanisms (uncertainty intolerance and repetitive negative thinking) in adolescents simultaneously.
The aim of this questionnaire study is therefore to assess mental health and aspects of climate change simultaneously in order to investigate the relationships between these factors. To this end, adolescents aged 12 to 16 at the upper secondary school in Steffisburg are being surveyed as part of an online study.
