Beyond symptomatic support: Students’ emotional experiences with climate change and how universities can help

Research suggests that many young people in the UK experience worry and negative emotions about climate change. University students may be particularly likely to experience such emotions 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 action among 869 students at a large UK university. Results showed that students experienced moderate climate anxiety intensity across different situations. Students reported high levels of negative emotions, including sadness, helplessness, and powerlessness, and low optimism and indifference. Students also experienced high levels of negative climate change-related thoughts, such as “The future is frightening”. Regarding their university’s role, many students favoured more climate change-related teaching and mental health support. On average, students moderately endorsed the thought that their university was “Dismissing people’s distress” about climate change, which correlated significantly with students’ climate anxiety intensity (r = .32, p < .01) and frequency of strong climate anxiety symptoms (r = .30, p < .01). These results demonstrate serious impacts of climate change on students’ mental wellbeing. They also highlight the importance of universities recognising their responsibilities in climate action and protecting students’ wellbeing.