Exploring how climate change anxiety differs from other mental health problems in youth
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21623722 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Megan Veillard, Megan L Veillard (University of Glasgow), Jala Rizeq (0000-0003-3915-5846, University of Glasgow, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Current Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1046-1310 • E-ISSN: 1936-4733 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s12144-026-09150-1 |
| OpenAlex | W7134234976 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 47 |
A rapidly growing research base is emerging around psychological responses to climate change, showing emotional and functional impairments. The concept of “climate change anxiety” (CCA) is still being developed, and more research is needed to explore how it interacts with mental health, particularly in youth. This study aimed to explore the degree to which CCA differentiates from other mental health problems in youth. As a secondary aim, this study also explored how CCA relates to transdiagnostic mental health factors. An anonymous online survey recruited a volunteer sample of youth aged 16–24 in the UK. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) explored the underlying structure of CCA alongside depression and generalised anxiety. The best fitting model was expanded on as a structural equation model to explore relationships with the transdiagnostic factors. The best fitting CFA model was found to be a three-factor model, suggesting that CCA, depression and generalised anxiety are not best represented as a unidimensional construct, but as three separate domains. CCA had moderate positive correlations with depression and generalised anxiety. The transdiagnostic factors were found to have weak relationships with CCA, whilst they had stronger relationships with depression and generalised anxiety. Taken together, these results suggest that CCA differentiates from other mental health problems in youth. Alternative approaches for understanding and supporting youth with climate anxiety in line with current theory and research are discussed
Anxiety · Confirmatory factor analysis · Mental health · Structural equation modeling · Climate Change and Health Impacts · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Environmental Education and Sustainability
Increasingly certain about uncertainty
Chronic Environmental Change
Climate anxiety
Anxiety, Worry, and Grief in a Time of Environmental and Climate Crisis
Anxiety and the Ecological Crisis
Understanding Eco-anxiety
Fearing the unknown
The Distress Tolerance Scale
The Psychological Effects of Climate Change on Children
A Brief Measure for Assessing Generalized Anxiety Disorder
The PHQ-9
Attitudes to climate change risk
Growing polarization around climate change on social media
The Effect of Trust in Science and Media Use on Public Belief in Anthropogenic Climate Change
Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change
Climate change anxiety and mental health
Development and validation of a measure of climate change anxiety
The effects of climate change awareness on mental health
The psychological distance of climate change is overestimated
The moderating effects of psychological flexibility and psychological inflexibility on the relationship between climate concern and climate-related distress
The Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale
Coming to terms with climate change
From Climate Anxiety to Climate Action
| Highly cited | No |
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