Anneser Elyssa, Levine Peter, Lane Kevin J, Corlin Laura
Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02111, USA.
Jonathan Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
J Environ Psychol. 2024 Feb;93. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102220. Epub 2023 Dec 22.
There is increasing recognition that people are experiencing stress and anxiety around climate change, and that this climate stress/anxiety may be associated with more pro-environmental behavior. However, less is known about whether people's own environmental exposures affect climate stress/anxiety or the relationship between climate stress/anxiety and civic engagement. Using three waves of survey data (2020-2022) from the nationally representative Tufts Equity in Health, Wealth, and Civic Engagement Study of US adults (n = 1071), we assessed relationships among environmental exposures (county-level air pollution, greenness, number of toxic release inventory sites, and heatwaves), self-reported climate stress/anxiety, and civic engagement measures (canvasing behavior, collaborating to solve community problems, personal efficacy to solve community problems, group efficacy to solve community problems, voting behavior). Most participants reported experiencing climate stress/anxiety (61%). In general, the environmental exposures we assessed were not significantly associated with climate stress/anxiety or civic engagement metrics, but climate stress/anxiety was positively associated with most of the civic engagement outcomes (canvassing, personal efficacy, group efficacy, voter preference). Our results support the growing literature that climate stress/anxiety may spur constructive civic action, though do not suggest a consistent relationship between adverse environmental exposures and either climate stress/anxiety or civic engagement. Future research and action addressing the climate crisis should promote climate justice by ensuring mental health support for those who experience climate stress anxiety and by promoting pro-environmental civic engagement efforts.
人们越来越认识到，人们正在经历围绕气候变化的压力和焦虑，而且这种气候压力/焦虑可能与更多的环保行为有关。然而，对于人们自身的环境暴露是否会影响气候压力/焦虑，或者气候压力/焦虑与公民参与之间的关系，人们了解得较少。我们利用来自具有全国代表性的塔夫茨健康、财富和公民参与公平性研究（针对美国成年人，n = 1071）的三轮调查数据（2020 - 2022年），评估了环境暴露（县级空气污染、绿化程度、有毒物质排放清单站点数量和热浪）、自我报告的气候压力/焦虑以及公民参与指标（拉票行为、合作解决社区问题、解决社区问题的个人效能、解决社区问题的群体效能、投票行为）之间的关系。大多数参与者报告经历过气候压力/焦虑（61%）。总体而言，我们评估的环境暴露与气候压力/焦虑或公民参与指标没有显著关联，但气候压力/焦虑与大多数公民参与结果（拉票、个人效能、群体效能、选民偏好）呈正相关。我们的结果支持了越来越多的文献观点，即气候压力/焦虑可能会激发建设性的公民行动，尽管这并不表明不良环境暴露与气候压力/焦虑或公民参与之间存在一致的关系。未来针对气候危机的研究和行动应通过确保为经历气候压力焦虑的人提供心理健康支持，并促进环保公民参与努力来推动气候正义。
