Revisiting 'environmental effects': Directions for multidisciplinary investigations of air quality and psychopathology.

Abstract

Air pollution is a leading threat to human health (WHO, 2021) but has been largely overlooked in the study of psychopathology. As the burden of poor mental health grows, a consideration of new contributors to psychopathology is needed to identify novel prevention and intervention approaches. Consequently, collaboration between clinical psychological scientists and experts in atmospheric research, pollution, and built environments holds great potential for advancing knowledge and addressing these threats. The current project brings together a cross-disciplinary team to summarize the state of existing research linking air quality to the development and maintenance of psychopathology. We then identify some traditional challenges to collaboration across our disciplines before identifying promising areas for future research and providing concrete advice to psychological scientists interested in similar collaborations, including recommendations for the measurement and application of outdoor and indoor air quality, ways to strengthen causal inference, and considerations for environmental justice.