Worry related to climate change in Brazilian adults.

INTRODUCTION

Climate change is happening, and feeling anxiety can be seen as a natural response to it. Climate anxiety is the worry about the climate crisis and could be related to specific emotions and thoughts. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of worry about climate change, and to describe the emotions and thoughts associated to it in Brazilian adults.

METHOD

Cross-sectional study with participants aged between 18-42 years (n=323). Data were collected online using the questionnaire developed by Hickman and colleagues, which assesses the worry, thoughts and feelings about climate change.

RESULTS

88.5% were worried about climate change. The feelings of sadness, powerlessness, fear and anxiety were reported more often among those who were worried. The most frequent thoughts were: "People have failed to take care of the planet", "The future is frightening", "My family's security will be threatened" and "Humanity is doomed".

DISCUSSION

In this sample, the majority of the individuals were concerned about climate change, and they showed more negative emotions and thoughts when compared to individuals that were not concerned. Future studies should take care to not understand natural worries and anxiety responses to climate change as pathological.