Magklara Konstantina, Kapsimalli Efstathia, Vlassopoulos Chloe, Liarakou Georgia, Lazaratou Eleni
2nd Psychiatric Department, Attikon University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.
SNF-CMI Child and Adolescent Mental Health Initiative (CAMHI), 11527 Athens, Greece.
Children (Basel). 2025 Mar 29;12(4):432. doi: 10.3390/children12040432.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The climate crisis has been associated with significant and complex challenges for youth mental health. Anxiety, sadness, and anger have been identified as core emotional responses to the climate crisis and its impacts. However, there are limited data on how these emotions correlate with climate awareness and engagement in pro-environmental behaviors. The present study explores parental accounts on climate crisis-related emotional responses, awareness levels, and engagement in climate actions among Greek youth, as well as the role of their parents' emotional responses.
This study employed a cross-sectional online survey of parents with children aged 10-18 years in Greece. A total of 186 parents completed questionnaires assessing their children's and their own climate crisis-related emotional responses (worry, sadness, and anger), levels of climate awareness, and engagement in mitigating actions. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between children's emotions and sociodemographic factors, parental emotions, and climate-related behaviors.
The children in our study exhibited lower levels of climate-related worry, sadness, and anger compared to their parents. While 33.3% of parents reported worrying "very much", only 7.5% of children were reported as experiencing this level of distress. Parental emotional responses were significant predictors of children's emotions, with high parental worry associated with increased odds of child worry (adjusted OR: 7.80, 95% CI: 1.71-35.62). Climate awareness was higher among parents (64%) than children (44.7%), and children engaged less frequently in climate-mitigating behaviors than parents. Family communication about climate change was also strongly associated with children's emotional responses.
According to their parents' accounts, children and adolescents in Greece exhibit moderate levels of overall climate distress, while parental emotions and communication within the family influence their responses. The present study's findings support the need for climate education and policy initiatives that enhance emotional resilience and encourage active engagement among youth.
背景/目的：气候危机给青少年心理健康带来了重大且复杂的挑战。焦虑、悲伤和愤怒已被确认为对气候危机及其影响的核心情绪反应。然而，关于这些情绪如何与气候意识以及亲环境行为的参与度相关的数据有限。本研究探讨了希腊青少年家长对与气候危机相关的情绪反应、意识水平以及参与气候行动的描述，以及家长情绪反应所起的作用。
本研究对希腊有10至18岁孩子的家长进行了一项横断面在线调查。共有186名家长完成了问卷，评估他们孩子以及他们自己与气候危机相关的情绪反应（担忧、悲伤和愤怒）、气候意识水平以及参与缓解行动的情况。进行了逻辑回归分析，以检验孩子的情绪与社会人口学因素、家长情绪以及与气候相关行为之间的关联。
与他们的家长相比，我们研究中的孩子表现出较低水平的与气候相关的担忧、悲伤和愤怒。虽然33.3%的家长报告“非常”担忧，但只有7.5%的孩子被报告处于这种痛苦水平。家长的情绪反应是孩子情绪的重要预测因素，家长高度担忧与孩子担忧几率增加相关（调整后的比值比：7.80，95%置信区间：1.71 - 35.62）。家长的气候意识（64%）高于孩子（44.7%），并且孩子参与气候缓解行为的频率低于家长。关于气候变化的家庭沟通也与孩子的情绪反应密切相关。
根据家长的描述，希腊的儿童和青少年表现出中等水平的总体气候困扰，而家长的情绪以及家庭内部的沟通会影响他们的反应。本研究结果支持开展气候教育和政策倡议的必要性，这些倡议可增强情绪恢复力并鼓励青少年积极参与。
