The Faculty of Nursing at the University of Baghdad discussed a master’s thesis entitled “Climate Change Anxiety, Optimism and Psychological Resilience among the Youth of Iraq: A Survey Study” by the researcher Jawadin Abdul Zahra Jared under the supervision of Assistant Professor Dr. Iman Hussein Alwan in the Skills Hall of the College.
The study aimed to assess the levels of anxiety from climate change, optimism, and psychological resilience among Iraqi youth, and to study the relationship between these variables. This is the first study of its kind to deal with this subject in Iraq.
The results revealed that the majority of participants suffer from low levels of climate change anxiety, while about a quarter of them (24.1%) showed moderate levels, and a small percentage (2.1%) suffered from high anxiety. The study showed a negative correlation between psychological resilience and climate change anxiety, which means that more psychologically resilient young people are less anxious.
The study also reached a remarkable conclusion, which is a positive relationship between environmental activity and climate change anxiety, where anxiety was higher among young people more involved in environmental issues. Based on these results, the study recommended that psychological support strategies should be integrated into environmental awareness programs to help these young people deal with their anxiety effectively. The researcher received an excellent recognition for his research efforts.
This study is directly aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Goal 3 “Good Health and Well-being”. By highlighting the relationship between climate change and mental health, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of the challenges facing young people, and emphasizes the importance of supporting them psychologically in light of environmental crises. The study also supports the fourth goal of “quality education” by providing new knowledge that can be used to develop more effective educational and awareness programs, which contributes to building a more conscious and sustainable society
