Climate Crisis, Mental Health and Youth Resistance

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in youth demonstrations in the face of the inaction of the adult generation and the absence of effective government action towards the climate crisis. These youth calls for action have sparked an international awakening, with students and activists uniting around the globe to protest outside their local parliaments and city halls and forming consequential social movements for long term action. However, there are multiple intersecting effects between the social and natural environments, including the mental health toll that the climate crisis is taking on young people – both activists and those who feel the psychological and practical effects of the crisis. These effects include transition and livelihood uncertainties related to study and employment, the loss of home and community through global disasters, food insecurity, and the growth of eco-anxiety and existential fears. The rise of authoritarianism can with no doubt be added to the list of societal changes affecting mental health and worsening the climate crisis. This session is invites theoretical and empirical works, on aspects such as social discourse, socioecological practices promoted by these groups, their organization and forms of action, as well as their social and political impact on society. Presenters are invited to recognise authoritarianism as a sensitising concept and adopt a broad sociologically informed perspective to youth mental health, including considerations of how gender, region, class, and ethnicity contributes to youth outcomes and resistance.