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Climate Change and Mental Health
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Climate Change and Mental Health

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Factors and Global Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2024) | Viewed by 6675

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jesper Dahlgaard

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Program for Mind and Body in Mental Health, Research Center for Health and Welfare Technology, VIA University College, Aarhus N, 8200 Aarhus, Denmark
Interests: health psychology; mindfulness for the flourishing of children, adolescents, and adults; mindfulness for the prevention of stress, anxiety, and depression; outdoor and nature therapy; molecular biology, genetics, and epigenetics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Anne Maj Van der Velden

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Health, Aarhus University, Nordre Ringgade 1, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
Interests: clinical psychology; psychiatry; neuroscience

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change and mental health are two of the most significant and pressing challenges facing societies across the world. This Special Issue will be devoted to publishing research (call for papers) that can shed light on the multiple ways by which climate change and mental health are interrelated. This could be through, but is not limited to, a focus on marginalized communities and vulnerable populations; stress or trauma caused by rising global temperatures and sea-levels and extreme weather events; and psychological distress caused by the awareness and experiences of escalating climate threats and climate inaction.

We also welcome research on how to mitigate the negative mental health impacts of climate change, and novel evidence-based interventions promoting human and planetary resilience and wellbeing. This could be through, but is not limited to a focus on nature-based solutions and interventions or Virtual Reality (VR) solutions; accessibility to nature and green spaces (in person or through VR) for more people including vulnerable groups, complex interventions addressing climate anxiety and grief and facilitating supportive communities for climate action and mental health.

We encourage studies or commentaries on sustainable development for promoting planetary and mental health, including the role of inner dimensions and transformation in sustainability, and the relationships between climate change awareness, life style changes, and civic engagement in promoting both planetary and human thriving and wellbeing. We encourage studies around social justice related to climate change and mental health, including socially-just transitions to climate resilience in order to reduce the vulnerability of people and communities to climate change impacts through both nature-based- and VR solutions.

The Special Issue encourages the submission of original articles based on both quantitative or qualitative data or mixed methods, and methodological papers, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, position papers, short communications and commentaries. All manuscripts will follow standard journal peer-review practices, and those accepted for publication will appear in the Special Issue on "Climate Change and Mental Health". We look forward to receiving your contributions to the Special Issue.

Dr. Jesper Dahlgaard
Dr. Anne Maj Van der Velden
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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17 pages, 303 KiB  
Article
Measuring Eco-Anxiety with the Polish Version of the 13-Item Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS-13): Latent Structure, Correlates, and Psychometric Performance
by Paweł Larionow, Julia Mackiewicz, Karolina Mudło-Głagolska, Maciej Michalak, Monika Mazur, Magdalena Gawrych, Kamilla Komorowska and David A. Preece
Healthcare 2024, 12(22), 2255; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12222255 - 12 Nov 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1818
Abstract
Background/Objectives: The Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS-13) is a thirteen-item measure of eco-anxiety, with four dimensions: (1) affective symptoms, (2) rumination, (3) behavioural symptoms, and (4) anxiety about personal impact. Being a recently developed questionnaire, data on its psychometrics are limited. The aim of [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS-13) is a thirteen-item measure of eco-anxiety, with four dimensions: (1) affective symptoms, (2) rumination, (3) behavioural symptoms, and (4) anxiety about personal impact. Being a recently developed questionnaire, data on its psychometrics are limited. The aim of this study was to introduce a Polish version of the HEAS-13 and examine its psychometric properties. Methods: Our sample consisted of 634 Polish-speaking adults, with ages ranging from 18 to 67 years. We assessed the HEAS-13’s factor structure, internal consistency, test–retest reliabilities, and its concurrent validity via relationships with climate-related variables, psychopathology symptoms, and well-being. We put emphasis on examining the discriminant validity of the HEAS-13 against general psychological distress. Results: As expected, the Polish HEAS-13 demonstrated strong factorial validity with an intended four-factor structure. The internal consistency and test–retest reliabilities of the scale were good and moderate, respectively. Higher levels of eco-anxiety were associated with higher environmental concerns, the experience of climate change (i.e., one’s perception of being affected by climate change), pro-environmental behavioural engagement, climate change worry, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, as well as lower levels of well-being. We empirically supported the strong discriminant validity of the HEAS-13, demonstrating that eco-anxiety was separable from general psychological distress. We also noted that females, younger people, and those with lower educational levels experienced higher eco-anxiety. To facilitate the use of this measure, we propose a potential screening cut-off value for the HEAS-13, which can indicate meaningfully elevated levels of eco-anxiety. Conclusions: Overall, the Polish version of the HEAS-13 has strong psychometric properties, usefully enabling the examination of climate-related anxiety. Our findings highlight its potential in cross-cultural research and healthcare practice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Mental Health)
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13 pages, 259 KiB  
Article
The Climate Change Worry Scale (CCWS) and Its Links with Demographics and Mental Health Outcomes in a Polish Sample
by Paweł Larionow, Magdalena Gawrych, Julia Mackiewicz, Maciej Michalak, Karolina Mudło-Głagolska, David A. Preece and Alan E. Stewart
Healthcare 2024, 12(11), 1128; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12111128 - 31 May 2024
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2362
Abstract
Developing valid and reliable measures of psychological responses to climate change is of high importance, as this facilitates our understanding of people’s psychological responses, including their pro-environmental behavior. Recently, the Climate Change Worry Scale (CCWS) was introduced. This study aimed to develop the [...] Read more.
Developing valid and reliable measures of psychological responses to climate change is of high importance, as this facilitates our understanding of people’s psychological responses, including their pro-environmental behavior. Recently, the Climate Change Worry Scale (CCWS) was introduced. This study aimed to develop the first Polish version of the CCWS and explore its psychometric properties. Our sample comprised 420 Polish adults aged 18–70, with a mean age of 26.20 (standard deviation = 10.61) years. The CCWS’s factor structure was assessed with confirmatory factor analysis. McDonald’s omega and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were computed to assess internal consistency reliability. Pearson correlations between climate change worry (CCW) and experience of climate change (i.e., an individual’s level of perception of being affected by climate change), pro-environmental behavior, ill-being (i.e., anxiety and depression symptoms), and well-being were calculated. Our results support the strong factorial validity of the CCWS, conforming to its intended one-factor solution, with excellent internal consistency reliability for the total scale score (i.e., McDonald’s omega and Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.93). We noted large positive correlations between CCW and experiences of climate change, as well as pro-environmental behavior, and medium positive correlations with psychopathology symptoms. CCW scores were not associated with well-being. As the CCWS represents a measure of a specific manifestation of worry, we also examined its discriminant validity against more general psychological distress markers, and it evidenced strong validity in this regard. Overall, the Polish version of the CCWS appears to have strong psychometric properties, and will therefore be a useful tool to use in research on psychological responses to climate change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Mental Health)

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8 pages, 1023 KiB  
Brief Report
Climate Change Challenge Faced by Italian Children: A Nationwide Study
by Livio Provenzi, Michelle A. Ovalles Gomez, Simona Frassone, Cinzia Pilo, Elisa Angiolini and Serena Barello
Healthcare 2024, 12(17), 1797; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12171797 - 9 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1386
Abstract
Climate change threatens environmental stability and human health, with limited research on younger children’s perceptions. This study examines Italian primary school children’s views on climate change to guide educational and policy strategies. Surveying 973 children (5–11 years) from different regions, findings showed high [...] Read more.
Climate change threatens environmental stability and human health, with limited research on younger children’s perceptions. This study examines Italian primary school children’s views on climate change to guide educational and policy strategies. Surveying 973 children (5–11 years) from different regions, findings showed high awareness (93%) and concern (63%) about climate change. Regional differences indicated greater concern in the south. Gender disparities revealed females were more concerned and experienced more sleep difficulties. Younger children had stronger emotional responses, while older ones showed increased pro-environmental behaviors. Despite moderate self-confidence in effecting change, a strong sense of responsibility and trust in adults was prevalent. These results highlight the need for early, continuous climate education tailored to regional, age, and gender-specific needs. Addressing children’s views on climate change can help educators and policymakers foster resilience and proactive attitudes, supporting the development of informed and engaged future stewards of the planet. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Mental Health)
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