The experience of hope for climate change advocates : a grounded theory of hope in the work and wellbeing of climate change advocates in Australia

Abstract

This research explores and articulates the lived experience of hope for those working at the frontline of wicked problems by focusing on a cohort of individuals at the frontline of anthropogenic climate change. Wicked problems are problems for which there are no solutions with no stopping point and complex interdependencies. Individuals working at the frontline of climate change experience a raft of negative emotions while working with these slow-changing, complex issues. Hope research suggests that hope can be a mitigating factor on negative emotions and support emotional wellbeing. Using Constructed Grounded Theory with twelve participants, this project examines the lived experience of hope for those working at the frontline of climate change advocacy. The results demonstrate that the experience of hope sits within contextual categories of (a) the motivation to protect future generations, place and humanity; (b) being action-orientated; and (c) persistence. The process of hope for climate change advocates exists within the dialectical relationship between despair and hope, and the conscious balancing of the tension between these two polarities. This research may provide frameworks for future research on the role of hope in other cohorts working in other slow-changing, complex wicked problems. Furthermore, this research has the potential to inform the use of hope in therapeutic strategies to support the resilience and wellbeing of those working towards changing difficult social problems.

Date of Award	2022
Original language	English