Page 148 - GHES-2-3

Global Health Economics and
Sustainability

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Parenting in a changing climate: The relationship

between discussing climate change with
children aged 5–11, family eco-behaviors, and

climate change anxiety

2
1
3
Jessica Eve Jackson * , Rebecca Rawson , Rory Colman , Yasuhiro Kotera , and
1
Michelle Brooks-Ucheaga 3
1 Department of Children and Young People’s Health Research, School of Health Sciences, University
of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
2 Department of Sustainability and Environment Management, School of Science, College of Science
and Engineering, University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom
3 Department of Allied Healthcare, School of Nursing, College of Health, Psychology, and Social
Care, University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom

Abstract
Academic editor: Climate change has a substantial impact on human health, and the rising levels of
Mihajlo Jakovljevic M.D. Ph.D. MAE
climate change anxiety have led to a global call for action. However, data exploring
*Corresponding author: the relationship between climate change, mental health, and individuals with
Jessica Eve Jackson
(jessica.jackson1@nottingham. parental responsibility is limited. This study examined the association between
ac.uk) parental climate anxiety and their discussions with their children about climate
change, eco-behaviors, and demographic factors. This cross-sectional study
Citation: Jackson, J.E.,
Rawson, R., Colman, R., employed an anonymous online questionnaire comprised of the 22-item climate
Kotera, Y., & Brooks-Ucheaga, M. change anxiety and eco-behaviors validated scale, disseminated using a snowball
(2024). Parenting in a changing sampling technique. Participants were eligible if they (i) were guardians with parental
climate: The relationship between
discussing climate change with responsibilities of at least one primary school-age child (5 – 11 years old) and (ii) lived
children aged 5–11, family eco- in the United Kingdom (UK). A total of 153 participants were included in the analysis.
behaviors, and climate change The findings revealed that parents who reported discussing climate change with
anxiety. Global Health Econ
Sustain, 2(3):3172. their children, engaging in eco-friendly and pro-environmental actions, and noticing
https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.3172 that their child/children were worried about climate change experienced higher
Received: March 15, 2024 levels of climate change anxiety. This study offers valuable insights into the nuanced
engagements around climate change and mental health among those with parental
Accepted: June 17, 2024
responsibility in the UK. The implications of these findings extend to informing
Published Online: September 9, 2024 policies, interventions, and educational strategies aimed at supporting parents and
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). guardians to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on mental health.
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution Keywords: Climate change; Parenting; Mental health; Eco-behavior; Climate change
License, permitting distribution, anxiety
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with 1. Introduction
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Climate change, reported as “the defining crisis of our time” (United Nations, 2020), has
affiliations. a significant impact on human health. However, there is a paucity of data regarding the

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2024) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.3172