Social Connectedness and Extreme Weather Adaptive Capacity: An Intergenerational Participatory Photo Mapping Study in Rural Appalachia

Background & Purpose: Older adults (aged 65+) and emerging adults (aged 18-29) face vulnerability to two converging crises: social disconnectedness and extreme weather attributable to climate change. These challenges compound each other, creating a cycle of risk. Disconnected communities struggle to respond collectively to extreme weather, increasing the likelihood of harm. Additionally, extreme weather can disrupt social connectivity by altering local environments. While older and emerging adults share vulnerabilities and agency, generational divides hinder cooperation, highlighting the need to build intergenerational capacities and connections. Indigenous scholars push for climate adaptation strategies that strengthen relationships among people and between humans and the more-than-human world, recognizing their interconnectedness. Strengthened connectedness can enhance empathy towards others and increase community capacity to respond to weather hazards. This study operationalizes relational frameworks, including multisolving, relationality, and intergenerational solidarity, to identify connectedness assets and challenges among two age groups, older (aged 65+) and emerging (aged 18-29) adults, in Appalachian Ohio, to inform targeted solutions for connectedness and extreme weather adaptive capacity.

Methods: The study site faces high climate and social vulnerability due to rurality and geographic isolation, high poverty rates, and limited opportunities for social connection. Guided by input from multisectoral community partners, participatory photo mapping (PPM) was conducted with older and emerging adults (n = 16) in Athens County, Ohio. Data collection procedures included photo and spatial mapping of social connectedness factors, followed by photo-and-map-elicitation interviews and focus groups, with one group being intergenerational and the other single-generational. Data were analyzed using thematic and comparative analyses. The multidimensional data were integrated to depict community members’ lived experiences of place.

Results: Social connectedness assets spanned human and more-than-human contexts, including green spaces, libraries, communication technology, animals, sharing food, and “relics of the past.” Place-based connectedness challenges included dwindling gathering places, digital divides and outages, and long travel distances. Connectedness challenges related to extreme weather included travel disruptions, confinement indoors, digital connectivity issues, and altered environments. Participants identified community-level determinants of social connectedness and adaptive capacity, including community hubs, ecological assets, animals, and a culture of community care. However, the assets were not equally accessible, and a legacy of environmental injustice strained aspects of community functioning

Conclusions and Implications: This study identified social connectedness assets and challenges among older and emerging adults in a rural, underserved Appalachian region. Current assets can be leveraged for capacity building, such as intergenerational knowledge and resource exchange, before extreme weather strikes. Connectedness challenges highlighted the need for multipurpose spaces promoting social connectedness, intergenerational contact, and adaptive capacity building. Findings highlight how extreme weather amplifies existing vulnerabilities, emphasizing the need for proactive measures and policies to dismantle oppressive systems and equitably safeguard communities. Social workers can promote social connectedness and adaptive capacity by advocating for increased public investments in social infrastructure and emergency response, as well as supporting local Collective Survival Strategies. In these endeavors, social workers must ensure their efforts do not reproduce or perpetuate existing inequities.