Reacción a "Exposure to cold and heat could affect adolescents' mental health"

The research examines the impact of exposure to colder or warmer temperatures on mental health and the potential repercussions that climate change might have on people in this regard. The analysis focuses on two groups of adolescents, Dutch and Spanish, comparing them with each other.

The results show that exposure to colder temperatures was associated with more internalizing problems (anxiety, depression) in Dutch adolescents, while exposure to warmer temperatures was linked to more attention problems in Spanish adolescents.

However, this potential influence of temperature does not occur in reverse. That is, cold temperatures were not significantly associated with internalizing problems nor did they influence the mental health of Spanish adolescents, and heat exposure had no significant effect on Dutch adolescents either. This raises the question of whether variations in the way adolescents express distress (whether through internalization or reduced attention) are more conditioned by cultural, social, or educational factors.

Additionally, the temperature measurement in the research was conducted outdoors, and the conditions of homes (insulation, air conditioning, heating) and schools play a crucial role in mitigating the thermal impact on people's emotional and physical well-being.