“In many ways, I have hope; in many ways, I don't”: A qualitative analysis of children’s eco-hope and eco-despair

“In many ways, I have hope; in many ways, I don't”: A qualitative analysis of children’s eco-hope and eco-despair | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article “In many ways, I have hope; in many ways, I don't”: A qualitative analysis of children’s eco-hope and eco-despair Zachary Fry, Terra Léger-Goodes, Catherine Herba, Laurie Deschesnes, and 7 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7349443/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Recent research has suggested that children may be inclined to climate change despair. This study aimed to provide children with an opportunity to reflect on climate change and the range of emotions of hope and/or despair they experience when contemplating the planet’s future. Sixteen primary school classes, ranging from years 3 to 6 in Canada and England, participated in an arts-and-philosophy-based mental health intervention. The workshop invited students to draw how they envision the world in 50 years. Following this, a philosophical inquiry was conducted, asking participants about their perceptions of the future of the planet, along with the feelings they may have on this topic. A phenomenological thematic analysis identified three overarching themes: (1) eco-hope, (2) eco-despair, and (3) interconnectedness of eco-hope and eco-despair. Participants frequently expressed feeling despair, describing concern over the worsening climate crisis, along with an enduring hope for a better future. Many articulated feelings of powerlessness in the face of environmental degradation yet remained cautiously optimistic that meaningful action would eventually be taken to improve current circumstances. These findings suggest that children should be offered developmentally adapted spaces to explore and express their emotional reactions to the climate crisis, including despair. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences Social science/Environmental studies Humanities/Health humanities Humanities/Philosophy Biological sciences/Psychology Social science/Psychology mental health intervention arts philosophical inquiry climate change hope despair children Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 29 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Dec, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 17 Dec, 2025 Editor invited by journal 18 Aug, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 17 Aug, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 14 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 14 Aug, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7349443","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":562443458,"identity":"48f0f3b8-e2a5-4611-81c8-459c1a8c6354","order_by":0,"name":"Zachary Fry","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Wollongong","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zachary","middleName":"","lastName":"Fry","suffix":""},{"id":562443460,"identity":"f8a90e9b-1ed4-4d4a-807a-bdb7e2c9ada9","order_by":1,"name":"Terra Léger-Goodes","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Quebec in 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