In sub-Saharan Africa, where the effects of climate change are expected to be particularly severe, there is an urgent need to address the mental health challenges faced by youth in the context of environmental degradation and socioeconomic instability. The intersection of climate change and mental health presents a complex, multifaceted challenge that requires innovative, culturally sensitive approaches. Young people in African countries such as South Africa, Ghana and Tanzania are at the forefront of the psychological impacts of climate change, yet there is a dearth of research examining their unique experiences and developing targeted interventions to support their mental wellbeing. This research gap is particularly concerning given the significant role that youth play in driving social change and adaptation strategies in their communities.

The concept of psychological resilience has emerged as a crucial factor in understanding how individuals cope with, and adapt to, environmental stressors. However, existing resilience-building interventions often fail to adequately address the cultural, socioeconomic and environmental contexts specific to African youth. There is a pressing need for interventions that are not only effective in enhancing psychological resilience but also culturally appropriate and sustainable within diverse African contexts, such as in the case of this project.

A cross-sectional survey will be conducted among the youth in the three countries using the adapted Climate Change Anxiety Scale (Clayton & Karazsia, 2020) and the self-advocacy scale for youth (Adams, Proctor, & Petscher, 2006).

The second approach will be quantitative. A survey will be conducted using the wellness wheel (Carter and Andersen, 2019), focusing on youth’s spiritual, physical, emotional, financial, social and environmental experiences, and the perceived hope scale (Krafft et al, 2019) will be used to measure the young people’s perception of the future in relation to climate change and its impacts on mental health.

Focus groups will also be held with youth, mental health professionals, climate experts and community leaders.

The aim is to assess and compare the levels of awareness and self-advocacy among youth regarding climate change, and its impact on their mental wellbeing, across the three countries.

The project will also explore the youth’s relational ecology of mental health, culture, socioeconomics and gender norms in South Africa, Ghana and Tanzania. An integrated, culturally relevant intervention framework that combines climate-change adaptation strategies with mental health support for youth, grounded in the relational wellbeing (RWB) theory, will be developed.

The overall aim of this project is to develop a culturally appropriate intervention grounded in the RWB theory to enhance psychological resilience and wellbeing among young people facing climate-related challenges in South Africa, Ghana and Tanzania. Insights gained into youth awareness levels and self-advocacy practices related to climate issues will aid in the development of a targeted intervention to support youth mental health in relation to climate change concerns.

The research also intends to optimise the interplay between cultural, socio-economic and environmental factors significantly influencing youth mental health across the three countries to address barriers to feasibility, acceptability and sustainability of interventions.

A pilot impact analysis will be conducted to determine behavioural changes among participants post-intervention. The first approach will be to conduct a survey among the youth in the three countries. The adapted Climate Change Anxiety Scale (Clayton & Karazsia, 2020) and the self-advocacy scale for youth (Adams, Proctor, & Petscher, 2006) will be used to assess and compare the levels of awareness and self-advocacy among youth regarding climate change and its impact on their mental wellbeing across the three countries. A comparison with objective one data will be made to ascertain behavioural changes.

Approach two will involve self-reflective storytelling using Photovoice to narrate the impact of the interventions, recorded using voice notes. The expected outcome is increased climate change adaptation knowledge among the youth taking part in the study, and enhanced skills with strong relational connections embedded in individual cultural contexts.