Young people feel an “institutional betrayal” provoked by their leaders.
According to new research, children and young people around the world are experiencing growing anxiety about the fate of the planet, specifically climate change and the way lawmakers face the approaching crisis.
Scientists who surveyed 10,000 young people, aged 16 to 25, from 10 countries, found “widespread psychological distress” among themselves and, for the first time, found that anxiety was significantly related to perceived government inaction. according to a study published this Tuesday. and Lancet Planetary Health.
Nearly half of all young people surveyed, more than 45%, said their feelings about climate change negatively affect their daily lives and functioning, according to the study.
Another 75% of respondents said they felt the future was frightening, while 64% said governments are not doing enough to prevent a climate catastrophe.
Of the young respondents, 58% said governments are betraying them, while 61% said governments do not protect them, neither the planet nor future generations.
The study is the largest ever to investigate climate anxiety among children and young people and is the first to investigate how government action on climate change relates to widespread psychological distress among members more young people in society, according to the authors.
“Climate change has significant implications for the health and future of children and young people, although they have little power to limit their harm, making them vulnerable to climate anxiety,” according to the researchers.
The results of the study came as no surprise and indicate a lack of confidence in government and the perception of institutional betrayal, Lisa Van Susteren, a general and forensic psychiatrist and co-author of the study, told ABC News. The findings are also “a measure” of adult climate denial as a measure of children’s anxiety, Van Susteren said.
“The kids are very media savvy. They don’t live in a cave,” Van Susteren said. “They’ve known what the future holds. They’ve heard the warnings.”
Scientists warned of the dire situation facing the planet in the annual report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published last month.
“This report tells us that recent climate change is widespread, rapid and intensified, unprecedented in thousands of years,” said Ko Barrett, IPCC vice president, senior climate adviser to the Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. of the United States.
Young people have been at the forefront of the fight against climate change for a few years now: activist Greta Thunberg, 18, has become a household name in 2018 and hundreds of thousands of young people around the world are taking part in an organized global climate strike. in 2019.
As an expert witness, Van Susteren conducted psychological assessments on young people who were plaintiffs in Juliana V. United States, the 2015 federal lawsuit filed by 21 youths who accused the government of not adequately combating climate change. He described it as “one of the most difficult experiences” of his career.
“It can be clearly seen that their depths of despair are only off the chart lists and are partly attributed to the feeling that the future has few promises,” Van Susteren said.
The case was dismissed in January 2020, but lawyers representing the plaintiffs intend to appeal the dismissal, they announced in February.
The researchers concluded that climate change and inadequate government response are associated with climate anxiety and distress in children and youth globally. Researchers warned that continued government inaction on climate change could lead to a public health crisis among young people.
Van Susteren described a “healing effect” that could occur if lawmakers and industry professionals did “the right thing” to significantly curb greenhouse gas emissions.
“They won’t be cured just with words,” he said. “They will be healed because of the actions that are taken.”