Please join us for the next seminar in the ANU Sociology Seminar Series, "How Do Australian Families Feel About Climate Change? Emotions, Hope and Responsibility in National Surveys and Interviews" by Prof Roger Patulny (Hong Kong Baptist University)

Date: Monday 26 October, 2026
Time: 12 – 1pm (AEST)
Location: RSSS Room 4.69, and Zoom (register to receive Zoom link)

How Do Australian Families Feel About Climate Change? Emotions, Hope and Responsibility in National Surveys and Interviews

Roger Patulny (presenting author), Rebecca Olson, Jordan McKenzie, Miriam Dillon, Mary Holmes and Fiona Charlson

Abstract

Climate anxiety has attracted growing academic and public attention, yet Australians experience a much wider range of emotions about climate change. Far from an individualised experience, these emotions are experienced within the context of families and close relationships, where concerns about children, loved ones and uncertain futures may shape how people feel and respond. This seminar presents findings from the Australian Research Council (ARC) funded Discovery Project How parents manage climate anxiety: coping and hoping for the whole family (DP230101928), drawing on three waves of national Australian Social Attitudes Survey data (2022–23, 2024 and 2025–26), alongside preliminary findings from over 80 qualitative interviews with parents.

The survey analyses examine the prevalence and distribution of climate emotions in Australia, their associations with hope and responsibility, and how they vary across demographic groups, particularly by household composition, partnership and parental status. They also explore how Australians perceive the climate emotions of children and their closest social connections, and how these perceptions relate to their own emotional experiences. Initial findings reveal that anxiety is the most commonly reported climate emotion, but accounts for only one-quarter of responses, while sadness, anger and disengagement are also prominent. Household circumstances emerge as important predictors of emotional responses, while anxiety can coexist with optimism, challenging assumptions that climate concern necessarily undermines hope.

Preliminary qualitative interviews further explore how parents experience and manage climate emotions within families, revealing (amongst other findings) evolving forms of climate denial and disengagement involving distrust of institutions, individualised responses and concerns about younger generations' anxiety. These findings highlight the need for a relational understanding of climate emotions, shaped by family and social circumstances, and intimately connected to how Australians imagine and respond to uncertain futures.

About the presenter

Roger Patulny is a Professor of Sociology at Hong Kong Baptist University. He has held prior positions at the University of Wollongong and the University of New South Wales, Australia, and the University of Surry, UK. His research interests include sociological studies of loneliness, social isolation, the sociology of emotions, emotion management, social capital, social inclusion and connection, unemployment and the future of work, social mix in public housing, gender and social networks, volunteering, trust, and digital interaction.

Contact the host of ANU School of Sociology Seminar Series: Prof Roger Patulny (Hong Kong Baptist University)

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