Social inequalities in climate change concern and their relationship with health and wellbeing in adolescents, Barcelona 2021.

Authors

Esther Sánchez-Ledesma, Mariona Ferrer-Fons, Gemma Serral, Carlos López-Muley, Paula Santiá, Katherine Pérez, María José López, Laura Oliveras

Published in

The journal of climate change and health. Volume 29. Pages 100676. Epub Jun 24, 2026.

Abstract

Climate change (CC) is a major global challenge with detrimental environmental, social and health impacts. Adolescents and youth are particularly vulnerable to the adverse emotional and mental health effects of CC. However, concern about CC can prompt them to engage in climate action. This study aimed to assess social inequalities in CC concern and their relationship with the health and wellbeing of adolescents in Barcelona in 2021.
A cross-sectional study was performed using data from the 2021-Secondary Education Risk Factors Survey (FRESC), among students in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades and vocational training. CC concern was measured by agreement with the statement "I'm concerned about climate change" . Health outcomes included: self-perceived health; mental health (via Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire); depression (via Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale); and life satisfaction. Demographic variables included gender, grade, contextual socioeconomic status and school ownership. Poisson regression models with robust variance estimated prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Of 3,290 adolescents surveyed, 73.3% reported CC concern revealing gender inequalities (80.4%: girls; 65.8%; boys; 75.8%: non-binary). CC concern was most prevalent among 12th-grade and non-binary vocational training students. In 8th and 10th grades, concerned girls showed better health outcomes (poor health: prevalence ratio (PR) [95%CI]= 0.70[0.57-0.86]; poor mental health: PR [95%CI] = 0.68[0.48-0.97]; probable depression: PR [95%CI] = 0.75[0.58-0.95]), while the opposite trend was found in older students.
CC concern was more prevalent among girls and non-binary students. In lower grades, concerned girls showed better health outcomes but this reversed in higher grades. Adolescents must be included in policymaking, with a focus on climate justice to protect their health and wellbeing.

PMID:
42388414
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 02 Jul 2026.

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