Students’ emotional experiences with climate change and how universities can help

Research suggests that a large majority of young people in the UK experience worry and negative emotions about climate change, which affects their functioning in daily life. University students may be particularly likely to experience climate anxiety and worry if, for example, exposed to distressing climate change content in their studies. In a pre-registered online mixed-methods study, we investigated climate anxiety, climate change-related emotions, thoughts, and views about their university’s role in climate change action among 869 students at a large UK university. Results showed that students generally experienced moderate climate anxiety intensity across different situations. Students also reported high levels of negative emotions, including sadness, helplessness, and powerlessness, and low optimism and indifference. Students also experienced moderate to high levels of negative climate change related thoughts, such as “The future is frightening”. As for their university’s role, many students wanted more climate change related teaching and mental health support for climate change impacts. On average, students endorsed the thought that their university was “Dismissing people’s distress” about climate change moderately, which correlated significantly with students’ situationally assessed climate anxiety intensity (r = .32, p < .01) and general climate anxiety frequency (r = .30, p < .01). These results demonstrate the serious negative impact of climate change on university students’ mental health. They also highlight the importance of universities recognising their responsibilities in climate action and protecting students’ wellbeing.