Hope in the face of climate change, existential meaning, and social connectedness

Abstract

This study approaches responses to the threat of climate change through a focus on hope concerning climate change as it relates to existential meaning, identification with environmental activism, and social connectedness. Hope is conceptualized in terms of personal and collective dimensions in line with Li and Monroe’s (2018) Climate Change Hope Scale (CCHS), and existential meaning is conceptualized in terms of comprehension, purpose, and mattering according to George and Park’s (2017) multidimensional view of meaning in life. Social connectedness is explored with regard to peer-age and intergenerational friendships, alongside quality of friendship function. While the literature on intergenerational friendships is limited, this study aims to explore how such relationships relate to social connectedness and contribute to well-being broadly, and more specifically how they may influence hope concerning climate change. A series of positive intercorrelations are found between hope, meaning in life, connectedness, quality of friendship function, and intergenerational friendships, but unique contributors to hope concerning climate change prove to be fairly elusive in this study. The paper concludes with a review of related variables that may impact hope concerning climate change and potential directions for future research.