Open AccessEFFECTS OF THE GLOBAL ECOLOGICAL CRISIS ON THE MENTAL HEALTH OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS: AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Author(s) -
Rūta Karaliūnienė,
Anna Maria Campana,
Dorottya Őri,
Renato de Filippis,
Sheikh Shoib,
Fahimeh Saeed,
Muftau Mohammed,
Jibril Handuleh,
Ramdas Ransing,
Anita Codati,
Mariana Pinto da Costa,
Margaret Isioma Ojeahere,
Laura Orsolin,
Víctor Pereira-Sánchez
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
psychiatria danubina
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.394
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1849-0867
pISSN - 0353-5053
DOI - 10.24869/psyd.2022.296
Subject(s) - mental health , climate change , global mental health , perspective (graphical) , socioeconomic status , global health , public health , psychology , political science , global warming , economic growth , psychiatry , medicine , environmental health , nursing , population , ecology , artificial intelligence , computer science , economics , biology
Climate change has become a global emergency, which mental health effects are increasingly being described and understood. Children and adolescents, especially those in low income countries and minority communities, are particularly vulnerable to experience the worst impacts of climate change now and in the coming decades. Our group of early career mental health clinicians and researchers in nine culturally and socioeconomic different countries across three continents initiated a global, online discussion about the effects of climate change on the mental health of children and adolescents, based on literature and our professional experience. We identified a paucity of research and psychiatric education on the topic, and a need to advance global and local efforts in this direction. We also identified three main domains of mental health impact of climate change: direct, indirect, and through physical conditions. Our work offers a preliminary, up-to-date overview of the consequences of climate change on the mental health of children and adolescents, and provides recommendations to advance policies, public health efforts, research, education, and clinical care in the emerging area of 'Climate Psychiatry'.