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Coping with Climate Change among Adolescents: Implications for Subjective Well-Being and Environmental Engagement

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  • Maria Ojala

    (Department of Education, Uppsala University, Box 2136, 750 02 Uppsala, Sweden)

Abstract

The objective of this questionnaire study was to investigate how Swedish adolescents (n = 321) cope with climate change and how different coping strategies are associated with environmental efficacy, pro-environmental behavior, and subjective well-being. The results were compared to an earlier study on 12-year-olds, and the same coping strategies, problem-focused coping, de-emphasizing the seriousness of the threat, and meaning-focused coping, were identified. As in the study on children, problem-focused and meaning-focused coping were positively related to felt efficacy and environmental behavior, while de-emphasizing the threat was negatively related to these measures. As expected, the more problem-focused coping the adolescents used, the more likely it was that they experienced negative affect in everyday life. This association was explained by the tendency for highly problem-focused adolescents to worry more about climate change. In contrast, meaning-focused coping was positively related to both well-being and optimism. When controlling for well-known predictors such as values and gender, meaning-focused and problem-focused coping were independent positive predictors of environmental efficacy and pro-environmental behavior, while de-emphasizing the threat was a negative predictor of pro-environmental behavior. The results are discussed in relation to coping theories and earlier studies on coping with climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Ojala, 2013. "Coping with Climate Change among Adolescents: Implications for Subjective Well-Being and Environmental Engagement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(5), pages 1-19, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:5:p:2191-2209:d:25694
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    12. Miloslav Kolenatý & Roman Kroufek & Jan Činčera, 2022. "What Triggers Climate Action: The Impact of a Climate Change Education Program on Students’ Climate Literacy and Their Willingness to Act," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-20, August.
    13. Hasini Gunasiri & Rebecca Patrick & Rhonda Garad & Joanne Enticott & Graham Meadows & Tristan Snell, 2024. "Coping with the Mental Health Impacts of Climate Change: A Green Script for Sustainable Action," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-12, January.
    14. Lei Kang & Zhaoping Yang & Fang Han, 2021. "The Impact of Urban Recreation Environment on Residents’ Happiness—Based on a Case Study in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-14, May.
    15. Magnus Boström & Erik Andersson & Monika Berg & Karin Gustafsson & Eva Gustavsson & Erik Hysing & Rolf Lidskog & Erik Löfmarck & Maria Ojala & Jan Olsson & Benedict E. Singleton & Sebastian Svenberg &, 2018. "Conditions for Transformative Learning for Sustainable Development: A Theoretical Review and Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-21, November.
    16. Anne-Katrin Holfelder, 2020. "Implicit Knowledge in the Context of Education for Sustainable Development: Students’ Orientations Towards Sustainability-Related Topics," Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, , vol. 14(1), pages 20-40, March.
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    18. Susan M. Koger, 2013. "Psychological and Behavioral Aspects of Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(7), pages 1-3, July.
    19. Maria Ojala, 2013. "Emotional Awareness: On the Importance of Including Emotional Aspects in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)," Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, , vol. 7(2), pages 167-182, September.
    20. Amanda Rikner Martinsson & Maria Ojala, 2024. "Patterns of climate-change coping among late adolescents: Differences in emotions concerning the future, moral responsibility, and climate-change engagement," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 177(8), pages 1-21, August.
    21. Kathryn Stevenson & Nils Peterson, 2015. "Motivating Action through Fostering Climate Change Hope and Concern and Avoiding Despair among Adolescents," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-10, December.
    22. Ma, Tianyi & Moore, Jane & Cleary, Anne, 2022. "Climate change impacts on the mental health and wellbeing of young people: A scoping review of risk and protective factors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    23. Katharina Voltmer & Maria von Salisch, 2023. "Promoting Subjective Well-Being and a Sustainable Lifestyle in Children and Youth by Strengthening Their Personal Psychological Resources," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-16, December.

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