Eco-anxiety and psychological resilience among youth in climate-vulnerable regions: an integrative review with implications for Ghana

Purpose This review aims to examine youth eco-anxiety, its expression in climate-vulnerable settings and its implications for public mental health in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach Following Whittemore and Knafl’s five-stage framework, PubMed was searched and Google Scholar was used as a supplementary scholarly search engine through 20 October 2026; backward and forward citation searching supplemented retrieval. English-language peer-reviewed conceptual, review and empirical publications addressing youth climate emotions or relevant Ghanaian climate-mental-health evidence were eligible. Thirty-nine publications were evaluated and synthesised narratively. Findings Youth climate distress includes anxiety, grief, anger, helplessness and perceived institutional betrayal. Exposure, developmental stage, livelihood insecurity, low adaptive capacity and political distrust can intensify distress; efficacy, social support, credible information and meaningful collective action can be protective. Ghanaian evidence is concentrated among adult farming and coastal populations, but shows how food insecurity, ecological loss, displacement and weak preparedness translate environmental disruption into psychological strain. Research limitations/implications Heterogeneous measures precluded meta-analysis. Limited direct Ghanaian youth evidence requires cautious inference from adult and international studies. Practical implications Ghana should integrate youth-sensitive psychosocial support, climate literacy, referrals and meaningful participation into adaptation planning. Social implications Addressing material insecurity, institutional trust and young people’s participation alongside emotional support may strengthen climate resilience without pathologising proportionate concern about environmental threats. Originality/value The review identifies a specific evidence gap connecting youth eco-anxiety, structural climate vulnerability and public mental health in Ghana.