Inspiring climate action without inducing climate despair

Godsmark, Christie Nicole

doi:10.1016/s2542-5196(20)30102-9

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Growing emphasis on CCE in schools offers an opportunity for the mental health community to come alongside these efforts. Safeguarding mental health in the context of experiencing, having awareness of, and witnessing the impacts of the climate crisis is critical, particularly given that learning about climate change may exacerbate distress for CYP ( Godsmark, 2020 ; British Science Association, 2023 ; Ojala, 2023 ). Government initiatives in England such as training senior mental health leads and expanding access to early mental health support aim to support schools to promote good mental health and wellbeing ( HM Government, 2021 ).…”

Section: Safeguarding and Promoting Mental Health And Wellbeing Throu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed not doing so is a cause of distress for many young people when they realize their education has left them ill-prepared for the future they face ( Diffey et al, 2022 ; British Science Association, 2023 ). Doing so without appropriate support, however, also risks distress; having an awareness of and learning about climate change can raise distress that, without coping strategies, can have harmful impacts on mental health and wellbeing ( Godsmark, 2020 ; Ojala et al, 2021 ; British Science Association, 2023 ; Ojala, 2023 ). Creating space within CCE for CYP to understand and reflect on their psychological responses to climate change and the links with narratives they hold and are told, will help enable them to act, and act sustainably.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Integrated approaches to climate change and mental health education may have win-wins for both. While literature has started to explore these links ( Cantell et al, 2019 ; Bryan, 2020 ; Godsmark, 2020 ; Pihkala, 2020a ; Ojala, 2023 ), this is yet to be fully understood or implemented.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Integrating mental health into climate change education to inspire climate action while safeguarding mental health

Newberry Le Vay,

Cunningham,

Soul

et al. 2024

Front. Psychol.

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Climate change is the greatest threat humanity faces, and puts at risk the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. Climate change education must equip children and young people with the knowledge, skills and resilience to live in an uncertain future, sustainably take relevant climate action and work in climate careers. As attention on climate change education grows, this is a critical moment for the mental health community to ensure mental health and wellbeing considerations are embedded. Critically, appropriate integration of mental health can enable these very necessary goals of equipping children and young people to live and work in a future where climate change looms large. This paper explores why promoting good mental health and wellbeing and building psychological resilience can help achieve climate change education outcomes, and why not doing so risks harming children and young people’s mental health. It also explores how integrating discussions about emotions, mental health, and coping strategies within climate change education can be a route into wider discussions about mental health, to support children and young people in the context of rising mental health needs. Learning from an existing approach to promoting good mental health and wellbeing in schools (the ‘whole school approach’) provides the opportunity to explore one avenue through which such an integrated approach could be implemented in practice. Identifying appropriate mechanisms to integrate mental health into climate change education will require co-design and research with educators and young people, and addressing systemic barriers facing the schools sector.

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Section: Safeguarding and Promoting Mental Health And Wellbeing Throu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Integrating mental health into climate change education to inspire climate action while safeguarding mental health

Newberry Le Vay,

Cunningham,

Soul

et al. 2024

Front. Psychol.

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“…This means supporting the ability to organize learning that is relevant to local concerns, but also acquiring the skills for action and seeing pathways to actually change a status quo that at a global level has already led to collapse. Without avenues for action, increased awareness will only lead to pessimism and disengagement [49,111,112], while blatant inequities feed frustration that cannot be channeled into constructive action.…”

Section: Limitations Of Strategies Implemented Since Riomentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Learning for Sustainable Development: A Historical Review

Nordén

Avery

2021

Sustainability

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Despite continued efforts by educators, UN declarations and numerous international agreements, progress is still limited in handling major global challenges such as ecosystem collapse, accelerating climate change, poverty, and inequity. The capacity to collaborate globally on addressing these issues remains weak. This historical review of research on global learning for sustainable development (GLSD) aims to clarify the diverse directions that research on GLSD has taken, to present the historical development of the research area, and highlight emerging research issues. The review summarizes key findings of 53 peer-reviewed publications, published in English in the period 1994–2020 identified with the search terms “global learning” and “sustainable development”, sustainability or GLSD, respectively. The review documented a gradually growing knowledge base, mostly authored by scholars located in the global North. Conclusions point to what we might achieve if we could learn from one another in new ways, moving beyond Northern-centric paradigms. It is also time to re-evaluate core assumptions that underlie education for sustainable development more generally, such as a narrow focus on formal learning institutions. The review provides a benchmark for future reviews of research on GLSD, reveals the emerging transformative structure of this transdisciplinary field, and offers reference points for further research.

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“…Another factor that may prevent people from making behavioral changes to protect the planet’s resources is overwhelming unpleasant emotions brought on by realization of the seriousness of the climate situation. These can range from climate anxiety [ 12 ], depression, sadness or apathy [ 13 ], to climate despair [ 14 ], anger or rage [ 13 ]. They may also experience emotions related to self-awareness, such as feelings of shame or guilt, or emotions that do not involve discomfort, such as indifference, active hope [ 15 ] or compassion [ 16 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change beliefs, emotions and pro-environmental behaviors among adults: The role of core personality traits and the time perspective

Tucholska,

Gulla,

Ziernicka-Wojtaszek

2024

PLoS ONE

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Climate change and its consequences are recognized as one of the most important challenges to the functioning of the Earth’s ecosystem and humanity. However, the response to the threat posed by the climate crisis still seems inadequate. The question of which psychological factors cause people to engage (or not) in pro-environmental behavior remains without a comprehensive answer. The aim of this study is to establish the links between the cognitive (level of knowledge about climate change and degree of belief in climate myths), emotional (various climate emotions, especially climate anxiety) and behavioral aspects of attitudes towards the climate crisis and their determinants in the form of the Big Five personality domains and time perspectives. The stated hypotheses were verified by analyzing data collected in an online survey of 333 adults using knowledge tests and self-report methods, including psychological questionnaires (Climate Change Anxiety Scale by Clayton and Karazsia, Big Five Inventory–short version by Schupp and Gerlitz, and Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory by Zimbardo and Boyd), and measurement scales developed for this study (Climate myth belief scale, Climate emotion scale, and Inventories of current and planned pro-environmental activities). The results of stepwise regression analysis demonstrate the importance of the core personality traits and the dominant temporal perspective as determinants of belief in climate change myths, climate anxiety, as well as actual and planned pro-environmental behavior.

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Inspiring climate action without inducing climate despair

Cited by 8 publications

References 4 publications

Integrating mental health into climate change education to inspire climate action while safeguarding mental health

Integrating mental health into climate change education to inspire climate action while safeguarding mental health

Global Learning for Sustainable Development: A Historical Review

Climate change beliefs, emotions and pro-environmental behaviors among adults: The role of core personality traits and the time perspective

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