78% of Canadian youth report that climate change impacts their mental health. This is important because mental ill-health during youth can have significant impacts over the lifetime. At the same time, youth feel powerless in addressing climate change, particularly due to government inaction.
This research seeks to uncover how negative emotions about climate change impact mental health in BC youth and what factors may protect against negative mental health outcomes. This research focuses specifically on factors of agency, for example activism and pro-environmental behaviours. I will use a large data set of more than 250,000 youth to learn about their mental health and climate change concerns. Additionally, I will work with 20 youth and two community-based organizations more closely to co-create a policy-level advocacy program and to understand the role of engaging in activism with regards to participants’ mental health. I believe this project will contribute to fostering the resilience and inter-generational support that youth will need as they take on the challenge of our generations.
Research Location: Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP)
Centring the margins: forging an equitable path for early childhood well-being in Canada emerging from the Covid era
It is well known that the period starting at pregnancy and ending with the start of kindergarten sets the stage for how children learn, experience the world, and grow into adults. In our current society, there are many people whose children have unfair disadvantages in their opportunities in these first years, for reasons parents can’t control. These reasons can include things like living in poverty, experiencing racism having a disability, or using drugs.
It can be hard for researchers and people that make government decisions to hear what is really important to people that have these unfair disadvantages. This means that they can’t solve problems or create programs that are helpful to these families.
This project will bring together researchers, people that make decisions in government, community program workers, and community members to work together to identify:
1) What are the most important topics to research to help all kids be healthy, especially those with less advantages
2) How should these research projects receive input from communities during the process
The team hopes that this will help all kids, especially those that already have unfair disadvantages, to lead happy and fulfilling lives.