Roldán Merino Juan, Moreno Poyato Antonio, Malleville María Eugenia, Botero Camila, Arredondo Arantxa Y, Rodriguez Quiroga Andrea, Costa Tiago, Teixeira-Santos Luísa, Guedes de Pinho Lara, Sequeira Carlos, Luís Sílvia, Sampaio Francisco
School of Nursing, Sant Boi de Llobregat Sant Boi de Llobregat, Campus Docent Sant Joan de Déu - Fundació Privada, Calle Sant Benito Menni 18-20, Barcelona, 08830, Spain.
Mental Health, Psychosocial and Complex Nursing Care Research Group (NURSEARCH), Universitat de Barcelona, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 585, Barcelona, 08007, Spain.
BMC Psychol. 2025 Sep 1;13(1):998. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-03340-5.
Climate change and environmental degradation pose significant threats to ecosystems and human well-being, leading to increased eco-anxiety, especially among young adults. Eco-anxiety, characterized by worry and fear about environmental issues, can affect mental health and behaviours. This study aims to explore the relationships between eco-anxiety, sociodemographic factors, experiences of climate events, pro-environmental behaviours, and life satisfaction in young adults.
A quantitative cross-sectional design was employed to examine the relationships between the variables mentioned above among young adults. The sample included university students from health science centres in Spain. Surveys were used to gather data on participants' eco-anxiety levels, sociodemographics, experiences with climate events, pro-environmental behaviours, and life satisfaction.
The study revealed eco-anxiety differences among genders, with female participants experiencing greater personal impact anxiety. However, no differences were found among education or area of upbringing and residence, except that growing up/living in rural areas was associated with more behavioural symptoms of eco-anxiety. Direct and indirect experiences with climate events significantly influenced eco-anxiety levels, with direct experiences having a stronger effect. Linear regression models showed that different eco-anxiety dimensions had distinct relationships with pro-environmental behaviours and life satisfaction, with personal impact anxiety increasing pro-environmental behaviours and reduced affective/behavioural symptoms enhancing life satisfaction. Increased personal impact anxiety predicted higher levels of pro-environmental behaviours, whereas decreased affective and behavioural symptoms of eco-anxiety predicted higher life satisfaction.
The findings suggest that eco-anxiety is a complex and multidimensional construct influenced by several factors, including direct and indirect psychosocial experiences related to climate events and information-seeking behaviours. Eco-anxiety is differently associated with pro-environmental behaviours and mental health variables, such as life satisfaction. Addressing eco-anxiety requires a multifaceted approach that considers its different dimensions and individual differences over time. Future research should explore these relationships longitudinally and include more diverse samples to enhance the generalizability of the findings.
气候变化和环境退化对生态系统和人类福祉构成重大威胁，导致生态焦虑加剧，尤其是在年轻人当中。生态焦虑的特征是对环境问题的担忧和恐惧，会影响心理健康和行为。本研究旨在探讨年轻人的生态焦虑、社会人口学因素、气候事件经历、环保行为和生活满意度之间的关系。
采用定量横断面设计来研究上述变量在年轻人中的关系。样本包括来自西班牙健康科学中心的大学生。通过调查收集参与者的生态焦虑水平、社会人口学信息、气候事件经历、环保行为和生活满意度的数据。
研究揭示了性别之间的生态焦虑差异，女性参与者经历的个人影响焦虑更大。然而，在教育程度、成长地区和居住地区方面未发现差异，只是在农村地区长大/生活与更多的生态焦虑行为症状相关。气候事件的直接和间接经历显著影响生态焦虑水平，直接经历的影响更强。线性回归模型表明，不同的生态焦虑维度与环保行为和生活满意度有不同的关系，个人影响焦虑增加环保行为，情感/行为症状减轻提高生活满意度。个人影响焦虑增加预示着更高水平的环保行为，而生态焦虑的情感和行为症状减轻预示着更高的生活满意度。
研究结果表明，生态焦虑是一个复杂的多维度概念，受到多种因素的影响，包括与气候事件相关的直接和间接心理社会经历以及信息寻求行为。生态焦虑与环保行为和心理健康变量（如生活满意度）的关联各不相同。应对生态焦虑需要一种多方面的方法，考虑其不同维度和随时间变化的个体差异。未来的研究应纵向探索这些关系，并纳入更多样化的样本，以提高研究结果的普遍性。
