What the study found
Italian parents described climate change as part of everyday family life rather than as a distant risk. Their accounts showed five linked themes: time and intergenerational responsibility, mixed emotions including eco-grief and solastalgia, changes to daily routines, tensions between helplessness and educational duty, and coping that ranged from denial to guilt.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that the findings extend environmental psychology by highlighting intergenerational place-loss and the contrast between small-scale parental action and larger-scale helplessness. They suggest supports that normalize eco-emotions, help parents communicate in age-appropriate ways, and connect families to collective resources.
What the researchers tested
The researchers used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, a qualitative method for studying how people make sense of lived experience, to analyze nine semi-structured interviews with Italian parents. The sample included eight mothers and one father.
What worked and what didn't
The study identified five interlinked themes: "Living in the forecast," "Panic, fear… and a spark," "Honestly, we stay shut indoors," "My efforts are not enough" and "Not terror, but awareness," and "Feels like a drop in the ocean." Parents reported emotional ambivalence, climate-related grief, family adaptations to climate constraints, and feeling globally helpless while still educating children about climate change.
What to keep in mind
This was a first qualitative study of Italian parents' meaning-making, based on nine interviews in Italy, so the findings are limited to that context. The abstract also calls for longitudinal and cross-national research, and it does not describe other limitations.
Key points
- The study found that Italian parents experienced climate change as embedded in family identity, care, and routines.
- Five themes were identified, including intergenerational responsibility, eco-grief, daily adaptations, and coping that ranged from denial to guilt.
- Parents described feeling helpless about climate change while still taking active responsibility for educating their children.
- The authors say the findings extend environmental psychology and suggest support for eco-emotions and family communication.
- The study was based on nine semi-structured interviews with Italian parents.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Italian parents link climate change with daily family life
- Authors:
- Jacopo Tracchegiani, Nicola Carone
- Institutions:
- University of Pavia, University of Rome Tor Vergata
- Publication date:
- 2026-03-04
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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