Crisis Pathways: Impacts of Global Crises on Families and Children

The majority of young people report various emotions in relation to the climate crisis, with some even expressing climate distress. While it is likely that parents and caregivers shape how children and adolescents experience the climate crisis, the exact nature of these relations remains unknown. In our study, we hypothesized to find associations between parent and child climate emotions and climate distress, as well as correlations with child age. We conducted an online survey with N = 131 German parents of children aged 6 to 17 years, measuring sociodemographic variables, parent and child climate emotions (sadness, anger, and fear), and climate distress. Using an Actor Partner Interdependence model, we found that climate emotions and climate distress were positively correlated between parents and children. In both parents and children, climate emotions predicted climate distress. Child age was negatively related to parent climate emotions and distress, but was not significantly associated with child climate emotions and distress. These results highlight the importance of studying child and adolescent climate emotions in their social context, by considering the role and experiences of parents and caregivers.