‘You can’t really separate these risks, our environment, our animals and us’

Australian children’s perceptions of the risks of the climate crisis

Bibliographic Data

ID22945870
AuthorsGrace Arnot (0000-0002-5646-6366, Deakin University), Hannah Pitt (0000-0002-4259-6186, Deakin University), Simone Mccarthy (0000-0003-2671-3511, Deakin University), Elyse Warner (0000-0002-1759-2183, Deakin University), Sabrina Lynette Thomas (0000-0003-1427-7775, Deakin University)
Year2024
Volume39
Issue2
Publication date2024-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHealth Promotion International (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0957-4824 • E-ISSN: 1460-2245
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/heapro/daae023
PMID38452241
OpenAlexW4392543533
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited66

Perceptions of the risks associated with the climate crisis are shaped by a range of social and political contexts and information sources. While some have expressed concerns about the impact of the spread of climate misinformation through social media platforms on young people, others have shown that the youth climate movement has played a key role in countering misinformation. Despite this, there has been very limited research with children about how they conceptualize the risks associated with the climate crisis, how they receive climate information, and how they understand and apply this to their own and others’ lives. The following qualitative study used photo-elicitation techniques and in-depth interviews with Australian children to address this gap. A total of n = 28 children (12–16 years) participated, with four themes constructed from the data using a reflexive approach to thematic analysis. Children were concerned about how the climate crisis would continue to harm their futures and the health of planet and people. They recognized that some groups and countries would experience more risks associated with the climate crisis as compared to others. While they received information from a range of different sources (school, family, social media), they mostly used social media to seek out climate information. They recognized that social media sites could be a source of climate misinformation, and argued that a range of strategies were needed to identify and counter false information about the climate crisis. Children's perspectives must be harnessed to improve information about climate risks and action.

Business · Climate change · Climate risk · Futures contract · Harm · Misinformation · Perception · Political science · Public relations · Qualitative research · Social media · Social science · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Psychology · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access