Summary: Adults who experienced trauma or abuse in childhood are more likely to take part in public environmental actions and to adopt private green behaviors, according to new research.
Source: University of Colorado
New research published in Scientific Reports suggests that childhood trauma can be a strong predictor of later environmental engagement, including volunteering, donating, and contacting elected officials about environmental issues.
Researchers from CU Boulder and Loyola University examined links between formative childhood experiences and two types of environmental involvement in adulthood: public, civic engagement and private, household green behavior. Their analysis found that adults who endured trauma in childhood—ranging from poverty and an unsafe home environment to loss of a family member or experiences of bullying or abuse—were more likely than others to act publicly on environmental issues. The study also found that childhood experiences in nature and childhood travel were associated with private green behaviors such as recycling, reduced driving or flying, and shorter showers.
“We set out to identify what motivates people to become environmentally engaged, and childhood trauma stood out as a powerful driver,” said lead author Urooj Raja, who completed her doctorate in environmental studies at CU Boulder in 2021.
As part of Raja’s dissertation work, the team surveyed a nationally representative sample of roughly 450 U.S. adults in 2020. They measured civic engagement by asking respondents how many hours per month they devoted to environmental protection—activities such as writing to elected officials, volunteering, or donating to environmental organizations. Private green behavior was measured by self-reported actions individuals take at home to reduce environmental impact.
Previous studies have linked childhood experiences with natural disasters to later environmental involvement. This study expands that evidence, indicating that a wide range of adverse childhood experiences—not solely disaster exposure—relate to both public and private environmental engagement in adulthood. The findings suggest that negative formative experiences may motivate people to act collectively to protect others and the environment, not only to change their own personal habits.
Raja, now an assistant professor in the School of Communication at Loyola University Chicago, noted that existing literature ties trauma to heightened empathy and empathy to pro-environmental behavior. Trauma may also spur engagement as a coping mechanism: individuals who have suffered may work to prevent harm to others and to the natural world.
Drivers of environmental engagement
To better understand why some people take environmental action while others do not, the researchers first conducted in-depth interviews with 33 highly engaged environmental advocates. Many interviewees reported some form of childhood trauma, and the theme emerged repeatedly as a motivating factor for their commitment to environmental causes.
Next, the team analyzed survey responses from about 450 adults who reported spending at least five hours in the prior month on environmental work. Respondents provided information about their civic engagement and green behaviors, childhood activities in nature (such as gardening, swimming, or hiking), travel experiences, and traumatic childhood events including poverty, hunger, unsafe homes, loss of a parent or sibling, health problems, or sexual harassment, assault, or bullying.
Results showed that childhood nature experiences, travel, and trauma all predicted private green behaviors later in life. However, childhood trauma was the only formative experience significantly associated with public, civic environmental engagement, and it was also the strongest predictor overall of both public and private engagement compared with other early-life experiences examined.
This research aligns with earlier work—such as studies by Louise Chawla—that links childhood exposure to nature and travel with pro-environmental attitudes and actions in adulthood. The new study confirms those associations remain relevant today while highlighting trauma as an additional, influential factor.
“A key takeaway is the value of giving people opportunities to connect with nature,” said Amanda Carrico, co-author and associate professor in the Department of Environmental Studies at CU Boulder. “Such experiences help cultivate a society committed to protecting shared natural resources.”
A need for more resources and support
Carrico, an environmental psychologist who teaches climate-related courses, observes that many students and professionals in the environmental field carry emotional burdens linked to the experiences that motivated them to act. She emphasizes that public-facing environmental work can be emotionally intense and exhausting, particularly for people who come from communities already affected by climate impacts.
The authors argue that these findings underscore the importance of providing support and resources for people involved in civic environmental work. “People we interviewed emphasized the need for better resources,” Raja said. “Recognizing the connection between adverse childhood experiences and the demands of this work is an important step toward offering that support.”
Funding: This study was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, the Graduate School of Arts and Science, the Center to Advance Research and Training in the Social Sciences, and the Department of Environmental Studies. Publication costs were covered by the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries Open Access Fund.
About this trauma and environmental neuroscience research news
Author: Kelsey Simpkins
Source: University of Colorado
Contact: Kelsey Simpkins – University of Colorado
Image: Image is in the public domain
Original Research: Open access. “Childhood trauma and other formative life experiences predict environmental engagement” by Urooj Raja et al., Scientific Reports
Abstract
Childhood trauma and other formative life experiences predict environmental engagement
Environmental threats continue to grow, yet wide public engagement remains limited. This study examines how childhood formative experiences correlate with environmental action in adulthood. We analyze two forms of engagement: civic engagement, measured as hours per month devoted to environmental causes, and private-sphere green behavior.
Using a nationally representative sample of American adults (n = 449), we find that childhood trauma predicts both civic engagement and green behavior. Childhood experiences with nature and travel predict private green behavior but not civic engagement. These results highlight the varied ways early-life experiences shape environmental concern and action later in life.