Eco-Psychology: a Growing Science

With the increasing threats of disasters, the impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly hard to ignore. Awareness of the damage caused by human behavior and consumption is leading young people to develop anxiety and guilt over their choices and the choices of others. Although the data supporting eco-psychology is still in the infantile stages, and diagnosis and treatment of related mental health conditions such as climate anxiety are still unsupported by rigorous evidence, a recent study published by the Lancet may be one of the largest to shed light on this emerging issue. The publication focuses on the indirect impacts of climate change policies on young people and children around the world. The 10,000 people surveyed in the study (ages ranging from 16 to 25 years old) were living in Australia, Brazil, Finland, France, India, Nigeria, Philippines, Portugal, the UK, or the USA. Results show that over three-quarters of respondents had negative thoughts, feelings, and worry about the future of climate change. Dr. Thomas J. Doherty attributes these feelings of consumption guilt from a construct that large corporations created to “shift the burden to individuals”. 

Read the New York Times article here, Thomas J. Doherty’s Abstract here, and the Lancet’s publication here