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“We're people of the snow:” Weather, climate change, and Inuit mental wellness

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Listed:
  • Middleton, Jacqueline
  • Cunsolo, Ashlee
  • Jones-Bitton, Andria
  • Shiwak, Inez
  • Wood, Michele
  • Pollock, Nathaniel
  • Flowers, Charlie
  • Harper, Sherilee L.

Abstract

Rapid environmental change due to climate change impacts Inuit mental wellness by altering the relationships between people, place, livelihoods, and culture. Little is known, however, about how fluctuations in weather contribute to the experience of place and the connection to mental wellness in Inuit communities. This study aimed to characterize the importance of changes in weather among Inuit, and how these changes influence mental health and wellness in the context of climate change. Data were drawn from a community-driven and Inuit-led study in the Nunatsiavut region of Labrador, Canada. In-depth interviews (n = 116 people) were conducted between November 2012 to May 2013 in the five Nunatsiavut communities. Qualitative data were thematically analyzed using a constant comparative method. Results indicated that weather impacted mental wellness through three key pathways: 1) shaping daily lived experiences including connection to place and other determinants of wellbeing; 2) altering mood and emotion on a transient basis; and 3) seasonally influencing individual and community health and wellbeing. These results demonstrate the immediate role weather has in shaping mental wellness in Nunatsiavut. In turn, this understanding of the climate-mental wellness relationship points to multiple pathways for action on climate adaptation policy and programming, and underscores the need for more culturally-specific and place-based investigations to appropriately respond to the mental health impacts of climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Middleton, Jacqueline & Cunsolo, Ashlee & Jones-Bitton, Andria & Shiwak, Inez & Wood, Michele & Pollock, Nathaniel & Flowers, Charlie & Harper, Sherilee L., 2020. "“We're people of the snow:” Weather, climate change, and Inuit mental wellness," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:262:y:2020:i:c:s0277953620303567
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113137
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Clark, Dylan G. & Ford, James D. & Pearce, Tristan & Berrang-Ford, Lea, 2016. "Vulnerability to unintentional injuries associated with land-use activities and search and rescue in Nunavut, Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 18-26.
    2. Durkalec, Agata & Furgal, Chris & Skinner, Mark W. & Sheldon, Tom, 2015. "Climate change influences on environment as a determinant of Indigenous health: Relationships to place, sea ice, and health in an Inuit community," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 136, pages 17-26.
    3. Ashlee Cunsolo Willox & Sherilee Harper & James Ford & Victoria Edge & Karen Landman & Karen Houle & Sarah Blake & Charlotte Wolfrey, 2013. "Climate change and mental health: an exploratory case study from Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Canada," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 121(2), pages 255-270, November.
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    6. Anna Bunce & James Ford & Sherilee Harper & Victoria Edge, 2016. "Vulnerability and adaptive capacity of Inuit women to climate change: a case study from Iqaluit, Nunavut," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 83(3), pages 1419-1441, September.
    7. Ellis, Neville R. & Albrecht, Glenn A., 2017. "Climate change threats to family farmers' sense of place and mental wellbeing: A case study from the Western Australian Wheatbelt," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 161-168.
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    1. Galway, Lindsay P. & Esquega, Elizabeth & Jones-Casey, Kelsey, 2022. "“Land is everything, land is us”: Exploring the connections between climate change, land, and health in Fort William First Nation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).

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