Environmental Distress Among Dutch Young Adults: Worried Minds or Indifferent Hearts?
Our natural environment is changing rapidly—and young people feel it deeply. Growing awareness of climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation is taking a toll on the mental wellbeing of adolescents and young adults. In this study, we explored how these concerns manifest as environmental distress and solastalgia among Dutch young adults aged 16 to 35.
Using an adapted version of the Environmental Distress Scale (EDS), we surveyed a representative sample of 1006 participants across the Netherlands. While most previous research on solastalgia has focused on older populations in areas directly affected by resource extraction or environmental disasters, our study offers a first look into how young people in a Western, urban context are mentally affected by environmental change. We also investigated whether factors such as place attachment, perceived control, trust, and personality traits (BFI-10) play a role in how intensely this distress is experienced.
Published in EcoHealth, this study highlights the urgent need for a deeper understanding of how environmental degradation impacts mental health. It calls for closer collaboration between researchers, mental health professionals, and environmental advocates to develop strategies that enhance mental resilience, build environmental awareness, and empower young people to engage meaningfully with the future of our planet.