Psychology Today: ‘How a warming world may be increasing the risk of child maltreatment’ – ‘Climate-related stressors’ linked to ‘the risk of child abuse’
By JoAnn Stevelos, MS, MPH, a writer, public health expert, and advocate for children’s well-being.
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Can Extreme Heat Worsen Parents’ Behavior?
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And then I wondered: Is there actually a connection between extreme heat, climate change, and child abuse? I didn’t know. So I looked.
Turns out, there is.
UNICEF has been studying the intersection of climate change and child protection since 2022. The phrase it uses is “threat multiplier.” Climate change doesn’t have to directly cause someone to hurt a child to increase the danger around that child. UNICEF’s research describes climate shocks worsening poverty, food insecurity and social inequalities while also weakening some of the family and community systems that protect children.
Its initial Kenya research was qualitative and involved more than 500 children, families, and other stakeholders. Families described what happened as droughts and floods made already difficult lives harder. Traditional community and extended-family support systems were breaking down. Participants also described rising stress, anxiety, and depression, often with few mental-health resources available to help.
Then I found research looking specifically at temperature and child maltreatment, including a U.S. study by Mary Evans, Ludovica Gazze, and Jessamyn Schaller. Using child protective services data, they found increases in alleged and substantiated maltreatment involving young children during hot periods. Neglect was the form of maltreatment most sensitive to temperature, and they found some evidence that air-conditioning reduced the association. The study has since been peer-reviewed and published online in The Review of Economics and Statistics.
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