The Green Review

Universities play a crucial role in achieving a sustainable future, especially through their research. Considering this, we are excited to highlight individuals and groups at UNB that have dedicated their time to pursuing sustainability-related research.

Our newest Sustainability Research Champion is Dr. Sean Roach, Associate Professor of Psychology (UNB Saint John).

Overview of your research

Our relationship with nature is fascinating from a psychological perspective, both in terms of how strongly connected to nature we feel and how nature benefits our mental and cognitive health. As a researcher, I’m particularly interested in how our connection to nature relates to engagement in pro-environmental behaviours and to climate change anxiety, which is linked to poor overall mental health.

In a recent study conducted with honours student Emily Thomson, we explored the relationships among the above factors in a sample composed mostly of UNB students. The results highlighted how strongly climate concerns impact our mental health, with climate change anxiety linked to depression, anxiety, and stress.

The study also revealed that not all pro-environmental behaviours are equal in terms of their relationships with mental health: those that engage in collective behaviours (e.g., signing petitions, attending protests) exhibited higher levels of climate anxiety and worse mental health, but this was not the case with individual behaviours (e.g., recycling).

Going forward, I plan to expand on the above findings and explore how these relationships are influenced by climate knowledge and personal experiences with climate change events.

I’m also interested in exploring ways to increase nature connectedness, which in turn may enhance individuals’ awareness of climate change and engagement in climate action.

How does your work intersect with sustainability?

Psychology provides important insights related to sustainability and climate change. My work and that of others seeks to understand the factors (e.g., nature connectedness, climate knowledge) that are associated with individuals engaging in sustainable behaviours and climate action.

Research clearly demonstrates that climate worries have profound negative impacts on mental well-being. Work in this area can better understand those impacts and, in doing so, provide guidance and interactions that protect individuals’ mental health, even as climate change awareness and worries continue to rise.

What impact do you hope your research will have?

At the most fundamental level, I hope that my research will help us to better understand our connection to the natural world and how it impacts our mental health in both positive and – in the context of climate change – negative ways.

Hopefully, future studies in my lab will help to reveal how we can protect individuals’ mental health while also promoting climate change awareness and sustainable behaviours.

Where can people find your work?

The above study is available via open access in Frontiers in Psychology. Anyone interested in my research can reach out by email at sroach1@unb.ca.

Know someone who should be a Sustainability Research Champion? Let us know at sustain@unb.ca.