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. 2024 Aug 22:2:78.
doi: 10.1038/s44271-024-00130-4. eCollection 2024.

Exploring children's despair in the face of climate change

Catherine Malboeuf-Hurtubise  1   2 , David Lefrançois  3   4 , Marc-André Éthier  4   5 , Jonathan Smith  2   6 , Terra Léger-Goodes  7 , Catherine M Herba  7   8
Affiliations

Exploring children's despair in the face of climate change

Catherine Malboeuf-Hurtubise et al. Commun Psychol. .

Abstract

Interventions targeting children's eco-anxiety have focused on fostering hope, however this is disconnected from children's need to explore and express despair regarding the climate crisis. Adults can help by acknowledging and discussing these emotions with children.

Keywords: Education; Human behaviour.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Child’s (11 years old) drawing of the Earth in 50 years.
Children are asked to draw the Earth in 50 years with very little directives and much freedom in the viewpoint, content of image, etc. Many children depict a dystopian or negative narrative of the future in their drawings, integrating elements of destruction, pollution and loss of ecosystems.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Hickman, C. Eco-anxiety in children and young people – a rational response, irreconcilable despair, or both? Psychoanal. Study Child77, 356–368 (2024).10.1080/00797308.2023.2287381 - DOI
    1. Frankl, V. E. (Viktor E. & Crumbaugh, J. C. Psychotherapy and Existentialism; Selected Papers on Logotherapy. (Washington Square Press, New York, 1967).

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