Once I started to understand climate change as a threat to human and planetary health, it became clear to me that the research questions I was investigating as a health psychologist would be particularly relevant in the context of climate change as well. I was already addressing concepts such as effective health communication strategies, stress coping, and health inequities in my graduate work. Additionally, living in California and seeing firsthand how fires, droughts, and the general threat of climate change impacted not just the physical and financial status, but also the mental health, of my community further implored me to address climate distress in my own work.

I would describe the understanding of the relationship between climate change and mental health as still emerging. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that climate change can potentially impact mental health through multiple pathways. For example, increased fear and anxiety of the general phenomenon of climate change may occur but also, increased air pollution or smoke from fires reduces opportunities to go outside or participate in physical activity which can then impact mental health. There is so much about this relationship that I want to know, but the two main priorities would be understanding which populations are most impacted and experience greater climate distress and then conducting research that can help identify or develop effective interventions and strategies for those populations.

This is such a good question and one that I am currently investigating in my own research and others are as well! So far we know that social support and community resilience are huge resources for coping with climate related distress and anxiety. It can also be helpful to become active in policy and advocacy efforts to reduce the effects of climate change and to develop plans for how one will address these impacts in their own behavior, household, and/or community. Other strategies that may be protective for one’s mental health would include practicing mindfulness, stress reduction techniques, and spending restorative time in nature. 

I feel so lucky to be involved with this publication. It occurred through a presidential working group on climate change and health sponsored by the Society of Behavioral Medicine. I was a member of the subgroup, climate change, and health inequities, chaired by Dr. Elissa Epel, in which we created this manuscript outlining how climate change exacerbates health inequities. We discuss and expand upon strategies within behavioral medicine practices that can uniquely address these inequities. The six recommendations we detail include: (1) utilizing effective science and health communication strategies that promote knowledge and prompt beneficial action, (2) centering communities by conducting community-led and community-engaged research, (3) participating in policy and advocacy efforts and incorporating environmental justice into our research goals and applications, (4) adopting antiracist strategies, (5) focusing on structural racism as opposed to individual differences, (6) and maintaining that race is a sociopolitical variable that can be used as a proxy to exposure to (and other facets of) racism or being racialized.  

I hope to continue investigating climate change and mental health and highlight populations that may experience higher levels of climate distress and how this can be mitigated. Intervention strategies I am particularly interested in are boosting climate resilience as well as effective science and health communication surrounding climate change. I also aim to investigate how climate distress relates to other health behaviors and outcomes. 

My motivation comes from a variety of sources, but I would say that my research goals are largely fueled by a combination of my academic and personal background. My undergraduate and graduate universities were Hispanic Serving Institutions and offered me the opportunity to learn from faculty and peers notedly dedicated to scientific environments that increased diversity, social mobility, and equity. As a Latina researcher with an education that emphasized social equity, I am devoted to conducting research that benefits populations experiencing marginalization. I am committed to serving as a mentor to the next generation of diverse researchers who may also have come from a minoritized and/or socially disadvantaged background. I feel uniquely poised and purposed to apply my understanding of health theories and behavior, my training in how to create an intentionally inclusive environment, and my personal background with multiple marginalized social identities, to conduct research that promotes stress-coping and health equity.