Department of Education and Pedagogy, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2024 Oct;65(10):1270-1282. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.14035. Epub 2024 Jun 28.
Climate anxiety is increasingly prevalent among adolescents worldwide. Are climate-anxious adolescents prone to engage in pro-environmental behavior? Or might the association between climate anxiety and pro-environmental be curvilinear, such that high levels of climate anxiety become 'paralyzing'? And do these associations depend on whether adolescents believe that, with effort, the worst impacts of climate change can still be prevented?
We addressed these questions in three studies (two preregistered; combined N = 2,211), conducted across two countries. We used cross-sectional and longitudinal methods, and various measures of climate anxiety and pro-environmental behavior. We performed Bayesian regression analyses comparing two models that tested competing hypotheses. The first model included a linear effect of climate anxiety on pro-environmental behavior, and the second model included both a linear and a curvilinear (i.e. inverted U-shaped) effect of climate anxiety on pro-environmental behavior. Next, we added environmental efficacy to the best fitting model and explored its moderating effects.
Adolescents reported low-to-moderate levels of climate anxiety. Across the board, we found evidence for a small, positive, and mostly linear (rather than curvilinear) association between climate anxiety and pro-environmental behavior. While Study 1 supported a curvilinear association (Bayes Factor (BF) = 18.87), Studies 2 and 3 mostly supported a linear model (BFs range 6.86-12.71), except for weak support (BF = 1.62) for a curvilinear association between climate anxiety symptoms and public sphere pro-environmental behavior. Adolescents' environmental efficacy moderated this link for public sphere (e.g. activism), but not private sphere (e.g. recycling), pro-environmental behavior.
Climate-anxious adolescents are prone to engage in pro-environmental behavior. We found limited evidence for 'eco-paralysis' (i.e. a passive state of pro-environmental behavioral stasis) at high levels of climate anxiety. Our results are consistent with the possibility that supporting adolescents' environmental efficacy will help climate-anxious adolescents engage in public sphere pro-environmental behavior.
气候焦虑在全球青少年中越来越普遍。焦虑的青少年是否更倾向于采取环保行为？或者，气候焦虑与环保之间的关系可能是曲线关系，即高水平的气候焦虑会变得“麻痹”？这些关联是否取决于青少年是否相信，通过努力，气候变化的最坏影响仍然可以避免？
我们在两个国家进行的三项研究（两项预先注册；合并 N=2211）中解决了这些问题。我们使用了横断面和纵向方法以及各种气候焦虑和环保行为的测量方法。我们进行了贝叶斯回归分析，比较了两个模型，这些模型检验了相互竞争的假设。第一个模型包括气候焦虑对环保行为的线性影响，第二个模型包括气候焦虑对环保行为的线性和曲线（即倒 U 形）影响。接下来，我们将环境效能添加到最佳拟合模型中，并探索了其调节作用。
青少年报告的气候焦虑程度较低。总体而言，我们发现气候焦虑与环保行为之间存在小的、积极的、主要是线性（而非曲线）的关联。虽然研究 1 支持曲线关联（贝叶斯因子 (BF)=18.87），但研究 2 和 3 主要支持线性模型（BFs 范围为 6.86-12.71），除了气候焦虑症状与公共领域环保行为之间存在微弱的曲线关联（BF=1.62）。青少年的环境效能调节了这种联系，对于公共领域（例如，激进主义）的环保行为，而不是私人领域（例如，回收利用）的环保行为。
焦虑的青少年更容易采取环保行为。我们发现，在高水平的气候焦虑中，“生态瘫痪”（即被动的环保行为停滞状态）的证据有限。我们的结果与支持青少年环境效能的可能性一致，这将有助于焦虑的青少年参与公共领域的环保行为。
