Understanding the Lived Experience of Adolescents Concerned about Climate Change

Kailie Drumm

doi:10.7273/000005166

Background: Climate change is a public health threat on a global scale. Over the last two decades, research has uncovered the myriad health effects of climate change and its associated costs, including increased respiratory diseases, heat-related illness and death, rising vector-borne illnesses, and food and water insecurities. Vulnerable populations such as the elderly, indigenous groups, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and children/adolescents face a disproportionate burden from climate change. Literature is beginning to show the direct and indirect effects of climate change to be an indicator of increased adverse mental health outcomes. Excessive worry, anxiety, grief, and post-traumatic stress disorder have been documented in adults across the globe. Experiencing current climate-related disasters while also anticipating future catastrophic events weighs heavily on the minds of millions. The development of scales to measure worry and anxiety regarding climate change in adults has shown the critical need to understand the various ways climate change affects mental well-being in all populations. Research has yet to understand, holistically, the nature of the existential threat of climate change in adolescent populations who are at a critical juncture in psychological development. The purpose of this dissertation was to: Aim #1: Understand the lived experience of adolescents who are concerned about climate change, and Aim #2: Uncover the meaning of climate change concern for adolescents as informed by emerging patterns, through the utilization of a holistic nursing lens to interpret findings. Methodological Approach: This dissertation utilized Heideggerian Hermeneutic Phenomenology as a philosophical foundation and methodological approach for data retrieval and analysis. A patient-driven, interview-based approach with a convenience sample (n=11, aged 12-17 years) took place. To reveal the multi-layered elements of climate change concern and its effects, one must initially uncover what it means for the adolescent to be in the world as it relates to this phenomenon. Three patterns emerged: Climate Change as a Temporal Threat and Pressure, Awareness and Concern as a Continuum, and Experiencing Concern and Making Meaning. These findings may now inform nursing and interdisciplinary knowledge on upstream mitigation efforts and the promotion of positive outcomes relating to climate change.

Understanding the Lived Experience of Adolescents Concerned about Climate Change

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