Risk and protective factors for mental health among adolescents and young people following climate-related hazards in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review of intervention-relevant targets

Background and Rationale Adolescents and young people living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are increasingly exposed to climate-related hazards, including floods, landslides, cyclones, droughts, heatwaves and wildfires (Thiery, Lange et al. 2021). These events disrupt education, housing stability, family systems, social networks, and livelihoods (Kousky 2016, Ma, Moore and Cleary 2022). Adolescence and emerging adulthood represent sensitive developmental periods characterized by neurobiological growth, identity formation, social role transitions, and heightened vulnerability to stress exposure (Whiteford, Degenhardt et al. 2013, Patel, Saxena et al. 2018). Exposure to climate related hazards during these developmental windows may have lasting implications for mental health and psychosocial wellbeing. Existing reviews have documented associations between climate change and mental health and have described the burden of mental disorders following climate-related disasters in LMICs. However, prior reviews have generally included broad age ranges without adolescent-specific or LMIC synthesis, are primarily focused on prevalence than determinants, do not systematically differentiate between modifiable and non-modifiable factors and do not explicitly prioritize determinants that are intervention-relevant (Helldén, Andersson et al. 2021, Sharpe and Davison 2021, Ma, Moore and Cleary 2022). This scoping review addresses this gap by synthesizing multilevel risk and protective factors associated with mental health outcomes among adolescents and young people exposed to climate-related hazards in LMICs. Particular emphasis will be placed on identifying factors that are plausibly modifiable through psychosocial, family-based, school-based, community-based, or structural interventions. Population Definition For the purposes of this review, we define the population as adolescents and young people aged 10–24 years, consistent with World Health Organization terminology (World Health 2025). While adolescence is formally defined as 10–19 years, emerging adulthood (20–24 years) represents a developmental period characterized by continued neurodevelopment and social transition (Whiteford, Degenhardt et al. 2013). Given these shared developmental vulnerabilities, we include this broader age range.