As per the new data, most young Americans are concerned about the climate disasters and over half of them think that their worries about climate change will affect the place where they live and whether or not to have children in the future. A survey of 16 to 25 year olds from every US state reveals the worries from young people with political views regarding climate change.
The lead author of this study, Eric Lewandowski, a clinical psychologist and associate professor at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine stated, “One of the most striking findings of the survey was that this was across the political spectrum. There was no state sample where the endorsement of climate anxiety came in less than 75%.”
The old study which included ten countries in 2021 was published in the Lancet Planetary Health. The advocacy group Avaaz is covering the cost of the current study just like the old study in 2021. Researchers from the NYU School of Medicine, Stanford University, Utah State University, University of Washington and George Washington University among other universities conducted this new study.
Researchers asked young people around 16,000 youth in an online poll from all over the 50 US states, ages between 16 to 25, to rank their feelings, ideas and fears about the climate problem. They were also asked to share their views on politics and who is to blame for climate change. The online survey was conducted by the researchers between July and November of 2023.
The majority of youth responded that they are feeling concerned about the climate crisis. 85% of people reported feeling at least slightly concerned and 57% reported feeling “very or extremely” concerned about climate change. The majority of the participants (52%) agreed with the statement, “I’m hesitant to have children” and over two thirds of the people agreed with the statement, “Humanity is doomed.”
Factors that are new to the study of mental health are highlighted by the new research. It is frequently acknowledged that there is a connection between the effects of natural disasters like Helene, Milton, and even Covid-19 and mental health issues. Researchers have even discovered a dose-response connection, where higher exposure to disaster leads to more reported cases of depression. Research on climate anxiety, which includes concerns about the planet’s future, is only getting started.
