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Association of youth climate worry with current and past mental health symptoms: A longitudinal population-based study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2023

F. Vergunst ,
C. Prentice ,
M. Orri ,
H. Berry ,
F. Vitaro ,
R. Treblay ,
S. Cote  and
M. C. Geoffroy
F. Vergunst*
Affiliation:
1University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
C. Prentice
Affiliation:
2University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
M. Orri
Affiliation:
3McGill University, Montreal, Canada
H. Berry
Affiliation:
4Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
F. Vitaro
Affiliation:
5University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
R. Treblay
Affiliation:
6Pediatrics, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
S. Cote
Affiliation:
5University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
M. C. Geoffroy
Affiliation:
3McGill University, Montreal, Canada
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Young people are worried about climate change but the association between climate worry and current and past mental health has not been examined in population-based samples.

Objectives

To examine 1) the prevalence of worry about climate change at age 23-years and its association with contemporaneous mental health symptoms, and 2) and adolescent mental health symptoms.

Methods

We used a Canadian population-based birth cohort (n=1325) to examine associations between 1) climate change at age 23-years and concurrent anxiety, depression, and suicidal behaviors, and 2) mental health at age 15 and 17 years defined as anxiety, depression, aggression-opposition, inattention-hyperactivity. We adjusted for participants’ socioeconomic status, childhood IQ, sex, and parental history of psychopathology.

Results

Most participants were worried about climate change: 190 (14.3%) were extremely worried, 553 (41.7%) were somewhat worried, 383 (28.9%) were very worried, and 199 (15.0%) were not at all worried. Worry about climate change was associated with significantly elevated contemporaneous anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. In longitudinal analysis, adolescent anxiety was associated with higher climate change worry at age 23-years while adolescent aggression-opposition was associated with lower climate change worry.

Conclusions

Worry about climate change is associated with contemporaneous mental health symptoms. However, longitudinal analysis suggests that this is largely explained by prior mental health, with adolescent anxiety symptoms linked with higher worry and aggression-opposition with lower worry. Future studies should aim to better define the dimensions of climate anxiety and track it alongside symptoms using prospective follow-up studies.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 66 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 31st European Congress of Psychiatry , March 2023 , pp. S281 - S282
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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