Climate anxiety in the United Kingdom: Associations with environmentally relevant behavioural intentions, and the moderating role of efficacy

Roberts, Alice, Poortinga, Wooter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6926-8545 and Williams, Marc O. 2025. Climate anxiety in the United Kingdom: Associations with environmentally relevant behavioural intentions, and the moderating role of efficacy. Journal of Environmental Psychology 10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102595 Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Background Reports of ‘climate anxiety’ are increasingly emerging across the globe, including in the UK. This study aimed to advance the field by (i) assessing whether a shortened version of the Climate Change Anxiety Scale (Clayton & Karazsia, 2020) - the S-CCAS - can serve as an effective brief measure of climate anxiety, and (ii) exploring the relationship between climate anxiety and environmentally relevant behavioural (ERB) intentions, with a particular focus on the role of efficacy. Methods In September/October 2022, a sample of 1,044 adults in the UK completed the S-CCAS, and measures of efficacy and public- and private-sphere ERB intentions. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Cronbach’s alpha, correlation and regression analyses were used to address the aims. Results The S-CCAS demonstrated acceptable construct validity and internal consistency, suggesting it may provide a useful measure of cognitive-emotional and functional impairment features of climate anxiety. Climate anxiety was positively associated with ERB intentions, with associations strongest for public-sphere, as well as higher-impact private-sphere ERB intentions. Higher levels of climate anxiety, and functional impairment features in particular, were less strongly and consistently associated with ERB intentions. Higher efficacy was however observed to strengthen the relationship between climate anxiety and ERB intentions, and to protect against a reduction in ERB intentions at higher levels of climate anxiety. Discussion The S-CCAS may provide a brief and easy to administer measure of climate anxiety. Findings further contribute to our understanding of the complex, multifaceted nature of climate anxiety and its varying degrees of adaptiveness. Future research should address current limitations by investigating the cross-cultural applicability of the S-CCAS and by using longitudinal methods to establish causal links. These insights are particularly relevant for psychologists and clinicians working with individuals affected by climate anxiety, as well as for professionals supporting broader systemic adaptations to climate change.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Architecture Schools > Psychology Research Institutes & Centres > Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST)
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0272-4944
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	1 May 2025
Date of Acceptance:	20 April 2025
Last Modified:	12 May 2025 15:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/178011

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