Climate Change Report
Climate Change Report
Climate Change Report
Climate Change
and Youth Mental
Health
Partnering organizations
The Hearth
Our Climate
Rogue Climate
Youth Era
The Klamath Tribes
Sisters Youth Transition Program (YTP)
Spotlights
Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB)
Phoenix-Talent School District
Sifuentes JE, York EA, Thomas, JR. Climate Change and Youth Mental Health.
Oregon Health Authority [Internet]. 2022 May. Available from:
» Acknowledgments............................................................................ 2
» Foreword........................................................................................... 4
» Executive summary........................................................................... 5
» Introduction....................................................................................... 7
» How climate change affects mental health.................................... 7
» Study design and methods.......................................................... 10
» Voices of Oregon youth................................................................... 12
» Cross-sectoral perspectives........................................................... 17
» Youth resilience and wellbeing in the face of climate change........ 19
» Spotlights........................................................................................ 23
» Future directions and partnerships................................................. 28
» Appendix......................................................................................... 31
» Key Oregon initiatives and actions to support youth well-being.... 31
» References...................................................................................... 32
» Endnotes.................................................................................... 32
Around the world and here in Oregon, devastating effects of climate change
are hitting hard. Heat domes, dry wells, wildfires and hazardous smoke – the
consequences of these events pose not only imminent threats to physical health,
but immediate and long lasting impacts to our mental health. Facing the threat
and uncertainties of climate change can be daunting for all of us. For youth who
see their future lives and wellbeing at stake, the burden and weight of climate
change can seem both overwhelming and unfair. Young people see their future at
stake at decision-making tables where climate action is being debated, and yet they
are not able to represent themselves at those tables.
In Executive Order 20-04 I directed the Oregon Health Authority to study
the impacts of climate change on youth mental health and depression as a
component of a broader youth mental health crisis, a crisis further exacerbated by
a global pandemic. Drawing from youth themselves as well as experts in public
health, education and mental health, this report identifies what can be done in
these sectors to build resilience among our youth and help them navigate these
challenging and uncertain times.
OHA’s report spotlights the effect of the enormous burden of climate change on
our youth. We see their determination and resilience to make change. We also see
a clear-eyed assessment that the adults and institutions with power over their lives
are not doing enough to address the causes of climate change. The strength and
resilience of youth are calling us to relentlessly step up our efforts to protect the
future of our youth, the planet and future generations.
As the effects of climate change grow, researchers and experts have become more
concerned about how it will affect our mental health. Mental health impacts on
youth are of particular concern as there is a growing youth mental health crisis in
the United States. This report, in response to Governor Brown’s Executive Order
20-04, shares study findings of how climate change is affecting the mental health
of youth in Oregon. The study included: a literature review, focus groups with
youth, key informant interviews and learnings from youth story circles. Youth
were engaged throughout the study to provide input.
This section includes a summary of what we heard from youth in the focus groups.
It includes common themes and quotes that reflect these themes.
Youth in the focus groups talked about how they and their communities
experience and observe the negative impacts of climate change. They highlighted
extreme weather events, particularly experiences with wildfires, severe drought
and water quality problems. Two of the focus groups, Klamath Tribes youth and
Sisters Youth Transition Program, also discussed the loss of important community
places and food due to climate change.
Eight professionals from the public health, mental health and education sectors
were interviewed about climate change impacts. The themes that emerged among
this group were similar to the youth focus groups. Key informants reported youth
expressing a lot of distress related to climate change.
I see an equal number, if not more youth, who are spending a lot of
[time with feelings of] hopelessness and despair that there will not be
a planet for them to grow older.
[Youth] don’t feel like they’re in control of their destiny. That has
very poignant mental health implications.
The uncertainty is created over the future … what are things going to
look like? What can we sustain with climate change?
I think these kids are disconnected from the earth and each other.
And so, I think in terms of mental health, they’re suffering in solitude
and isolation in ways we’ve never seen
Many key informants pointed out that anxiety and depression are normal and
healthy responses to the climate crisis:
I don’t like the mental health industry very much because we don’t
acknowledge the world and the absurdity of the world often enough.
We focus on individuals and their problems … With the way we talk
about mental health … it’s all about their depression, their anxiety,
the things that are wrong with them, and how they don’t interface
with the world well enough. Climate change is such a specific
example of why that is an absolutely a [sic] useless model, the world
is the problem, the world will not look the same, it will not exist the
same way. It needs to be fixed.
And reaffirming that we are in some serious shit right now.
And if you’re feeling depressed or anxious or hopeless, that’s
an understandable response. So how can we mobilize to change
that together?
Participants reported personal experiences living in communities affected by
wildfire and smoke. Some key informants working in schools in Southern Oregon
reported how youth mental health was impacted by recent extreme weather
Through the focus groups, key informant interviews and youth virtual gathering,
participants expressed the importance of community, social connection, our
relationship with nature, and engaging youth in decision-making, projects, and
activities that support their wellbeing and contribute to social change. In this
section, we spotlight three projects in our region that embody these themes
and values.
“ “
49 Days of Ceremony is about connection; reconnecting with the
land, our ancestors, our culture and with ourselves, each other
and all living beings.
In collaboration with the Center for Disease Control, Alaska Native Tribal Health
Research Consortium, Good Medicine Tribal Public Health Consulting Services
and Tribal Elders in the Pacific Northwest– the Northwest Portland Area Indian
Health Board is working to develop a public health intervention for AI/AN
young adults (18-24 years) designed to heal trauma and promote optimal health
and well-being through accessing traditional Indigenous ways of knowing. This
intervention could be adapted for adolescents.
This intervention, 49 Days of Ceremony, applies an Indigenous framework
for conceptualizing health and encourages people to live full and balanced
lives through:
• Engaging in traditional Indigenous wellness and healing practices
• Applying ancestral knowledge, and
• Reflecting on Indigenous teachings. (21)
Figure 1
49 Days of Ceremony Framework
Endnotes
1. Lawrance E; Thompson, R; Fontana G.; Jennings, N. The impact of climate
change on mental health and emotional wellbeing: current evidence and
implications for policy and practice [Internet]. Imperial College London,
Grantham Institute; 2021 May [cited 2022 Apr 25]. Available from: https://
spiral.imperial.ac.uk/bitstream/10044/1/88568/7/The%20impact%20of%20
climate%20change%20on%20mental%20health%20and%20emotional%20
wellbeing%20-%20current%20evidence%20and%20implications%20for%20p-
olicy%20and%20practice%20%281%29.pdf
2. Clayton S, Manning CM, Krygsman K, Speiser M. Mental Health and
Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications, and Guidance [Internet].
Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, Climate for Health
and ecoAmerica; 2017 Mar [cited 2022 Apr 25]. Available from: https://www.
apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/03/mental-health-climate.pdf
3. Austin EK; Handley T; Kiem AS; Rich JL; Lewin TJ; Askland HH, et al.
Drought-related stress among farmers: findings from the Australian Rural
Mental Health Study. The Medical Journal of Australia [Internet] 2018
July 30; 209(4):159-165. Available from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/
abs/10.5694/mja17.01200 doi: 10.5694/mja17.01200
4. Hickman C, Marks E, Pihkala P, Clayton S, Lewandowski RE, Mayall
EE, et al. Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs
about government responses to climate change: a global survey. The Lancet
Planetary Health [Internet]. 2021 Dec 1 [cited 2022 Apr 25]; 5(12):e863-73.
Available from: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-
5196(21)00278-3/fulltext
5. Protecting Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory
[Internet]. HHS.gov, Office of the Surgeon General 2021 Dec 6 [cited 2022
Apr 25]. Available from: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-
general-youth-mental-health-advisory.pdf
6. Curtin SC. State suicide rates among adolescents and young adults aged
10–24: United States, 2000–2018. National Vital Statistics Reports [Internet].
2020 Sept 11 [cited 2022 Apr 25];69(11). Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/
nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr69/nvsr-69-11-508.pdf