TY - JOUR
T1 - Family Communication About Climate Change in the United States
AU - Dayton, Lauren
AU - Balaban, Ariel
AU - Scherkoske, Melissa
AU - Latkin, Carl
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by R01 DA040488 and Alliance for a Healthier World. The authors would like to acknowledge the study participants who shared their time and experiences.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Family discussions about climate change are a critical factor influencing children’s climate change perceptions and behaviors. Yet, there is limited research on family communication about climate change in the US. Drawing from an online longitudinal sample, 214 parents reported on their 336 children. Descriptive statistics examined engagement in family climate change communication. Children’s climate change concerns and parents’ interest in engaging in conversations about climate change were assessed by the child’s age. Logistic models examined how recent family climate change communication was associated with parents’ perceived roles and barriers to engaging in conversations. Most parents (68%) were interested in talking to their children about climate change; of those expressing interest, only 46% reported recent communication. Parents reported that older children were more concerned about climate change than younger children (0–5 years: 21%; 6–11 years: 43%; 12–17 years: 56%), but no differences were identified in parents’ interest in communicating with their children by the child’s age. Recent family climate change communication was significantly associated with not knowing what to say and parents’ perception that their role was to support their children in action. Study findings suggest a significant opportunity to involve families in climate change communication. Parents may benefit from training resources, especially those tailored to children’s age, to help them communicate with their children about climate change. Strategies that engage parents and children in activism activities together are also needed.
AB - Family discussions about climate change are a critical factor influencing children’s climate change perceptions and behaviors. Yet, there is limited research on family communication about climate change in the US. Drawing from an online longitudinal sample, 214 parents reported on their 336 children. Descriptive statistics examined engagement in family climate change communication. Children’s climate change concerns and parents’ interest in engaging in conversations about climate change were assessed by the child’s age. Logistic models examined how recent family climate change communication was associated with parents’ perceived roles and barriers to engaging in conversations. Most parents (68%) were interested in talking to their children about climate change; of those expressing interest, only 46% reported recent communication. Parents reported that older children were more concerned about climate change than younger children (0–5 years: 21%; 6–11 years: 43%; 12–17 years: 56%), but no differences were identified in parents’ interest in communicating with their children by the child’s age. Recent family climate change communication was significantly associated with not knowing what to say and parents’ perception that their role was to support their children in action. Study findings suggest a significant opportunity to involve families in climate change communication. Parents may benefit from training resources, especially those tailored to children’s age, to help them communicate with their children about climate change. Strategies that engage parents and children in activism activities together are also needed.
KW - Child well-being
KW - Climate change
KW - Family relations
KW - Health communication
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U2 - 10.1007/s10935-022-00712-0
DO - 10.1007/s10935-022-00712-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 36322280
AN - SCOPUS:85141185874
SN - 2731-5533
JO - Journal of Prevention
JF - Journal of Prevention
ER -