Eco-anxiety is an area of increasing interest and a significant issue of our times, but we know very little about the lived experiences of people actually dealing with it. This research project aims to find out how anxiety, distress and grief about the environment affects daily life for individuals across generations and families. In addition, we consider how this anxiety might shape perceptions of the future for people of different ages. Alongside experiences of eco-anxiety, this project investigates the relationship between climate anxiety and participation in climate-related work, protests and activism. In recent years, we have seen increasing numbers of people getting involved in climate action, particularly young people who have been inspired by the school strikes for climate or ‘Fridays for Future’ movement. Our project is interested in the reasons why people choose to participate in these events, and how this participation affects levels of climate anxiety. An important aspect of our research is to examine the different generational experiences of climate activism, and how families discuss climate activism and anxiety at home.
This research led by Dr Bridget Bradley, and supported by a team of early-career research scholars with expertise in sustainability, health and social justice.
Funding is provided by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC/AN/08/020).
Our team:
Dr Bridget Bradley, Principal Investigator
Dr Rika Hirose, Post-doctoral Research Fellow
Hannah Fitchett, Research Assistant
Eleonora Ranuzzi, Research Assistant
