Rouven Doran

Facets of climate change related distress have been shown to be negatively associated with mental wellbeing, fueling discourses on their potential clinical significance. We assume that efficacy beliefs – a person’s confidence in being able to help mitigate climate change, individually or as part of a collective – serve as a protective factor against negative effects on mental wellbeing that may arise from climate change related distress. In this preregistered cross-sectional study, we put this assumption to an initial test. We used a sample of n = 889 citizens in Germany, roughly representative of the general population, and focused on climate anxiety as a facet of climate change related distress. We hypothesized that climate anxiety would be negatively correlated with mental wellbeing and that efficacy beliefs would mediate this relationship, showing positive associations with climate anxiety and with mental wellbeing – indicating a suppression effect. Correlation and regression analyses, in which we controlled for participants’ age, gender, socioeconomic status and prior climate change activism, supported these hypotheses. Future research should use longitudinal designs to further explore the assumed role of efficacy beliefs in coping with climate anxiety and preventing negative effects on mental wellbeing.

There is growing evidence that climate anxiety is associated with significant effects on the mental health and wellbeing of young people. However, the relative importance of climate anxiety for young people's mental health has hitherto been unclear, as climate anxiety has largely been studied in isolation from other common stressors. This study sought to contextualize the significance of climate anxiety for the mental health of UK young adults relative to other concurrent psychological stressors. We surveyed university students ( N = 461) and a general population sample aged 18–25 ( N = 400). The results showed that while climate anxiety was significantly associated with poorer mental health and worse insomnia when examined alone, this association became nonsignificant or greatly diminished when other stressors were considered. Loneliness was found to be the most important predictor of mental health, and financial anxiety the most important predictor of insomnia severity. The findings suggest that climate anxiety, while concerning, may not be an especially dominant factor in young people's mental health. Our research highlights the need to consider the broader context of young people's lives, and the complex interplay of various psychological stressors, in efforts to map pathways between climate change and mental health.

Climate justice is increasingly prominent in climate change communication and advocacy but little is known about public understanding of the concept or how widely it resonates with different groups. In our global survey of 5,627 adults in 11 countries spanning the global north and south, most participants (66.2%) had never heard of climate justice. Nonetheless, endorsement of climate justice beliefs was widespread (for example, acknowledging the disproportionate impact of climate change on poor people and the underpinning roles of capitalism and colonialism in the climate crisis). Climate justice beliefs were also associated with various indices of climate action and policy support. These associations tended to be stronger in countries with high GHG emissions and where social inequality is also more politically salient. The results highlight the value of climate justice as a motive for climate action across diverse geographical contexts.

How actors perceive the transition pathways towards sustainable energy production and use is likely to influence their support in their everyday behaviour and political engagement toward the energy transition. Mapping actor’s mental models of the energy transition can provide key insights into such perceptions. The present study is the first to systematically map mental models of the energy transition, compare mental models between actor groups, and explain differences in mental models with political orientation and worry about climate change. We mapped mental models about the energy transition among a sample of experts (N=25), and representative samples of Dutch (N=299) and Norwegian citizens (N=313). Participants visualised their perceptions of the causal relations of energy transition pathways by drawing a diagram using a standardised tool to map mental models (M-Tool). The results demonstrate (1) a key focus in the mental models on renewable energy generation such as solar panels, wind farms, and hydropower, (2) that expert mental models are more focused on policy pathways compared to citizen mental models, (3) that mental models of more right-winged actors focus less on individual behaviour than left-winged actors, and (4) that climate change worry results in more focus on individual behaviour and policy pathways in the mental models. Policymakers could use these insights when developing communications concerning the energy transition, for example, by tailoring their messages to the mental models of the target group.

Recent cross-sectional and experimental research has found measures of climate change related distress to be positively associated with measures of self-efficacy. Authors of some of these studies have interpreted this finding in terms of motivated control, that is, people who experience climate change related distress are motivated to believe that they can help mitigate climate change. We extend this notion of motivated control by assuming that efficacy beliefs flowing from climate change related distress play a role in encouraging climate action. In two cross-sectional studies, we investigate this assumption: Study 1 used data from a multi-country study and found that negative emotions regarding climate change were positively associated with climate action and both individual and collective self-efficacy. Furthermore, we found evidence for an indirect effect of negative emotions on climate action via self-efficacy (individual and collective). Study 2 conceptually replicated this mediation effect, using data from a sample of citizens in Germany and a different measure of distress, focusing on climate change worry. Additional exploratory analyses revealed that associations with self-efficacy and climate action were stronger for more adaptive forms of climate change worry, compared to less adaptive forms. We conclude that our findings provide correlational support for motivated control being one of the psychological processes – and self-efficacy being one of the person-level factors – that account for adaptive behavioral reactions to climate change related distress. Experimental and longitudinal studies are needed to further substantiate this conclusion.

People around the world are worried about the climate crisis and increased attention is being drawn to the implications that this can have for mental wellbeing. While research on the nature and prevalence of phenomena like climate anxiety (or eco-anxiety) is increasing rapidly, there is still very little understanding of the conditions under which people’s worries about climate change become more or less likely to significantly impact their mental wellbeing. Here, we considered two plausible moderators of the relationship between climate change worry and mental wellbeing: neuroticism and efficacy beliefs. Our findings show that climate change worry is negatively related to mental wellbeing at any level of perceived efficacy. In contrast, climate change worry is only significantly related to mental wellbeing at low and average levels of neuroticism. High neuroticism appears to have a masking, rather than amplifying, effect on the relationship between climate change worry and mental wellbeing.

Contemporary climate change advocacy, science, and policymaking widely incorporate justice framing, but little is known about public understanding of climate justice and the degree to which justice-related beliefs function as a motivation for climate action and policy support. We assessed climate justice awareness among adults in 11 countries spanning the Global North and South (N = 5,627). Most participants (66.2%) had never heard of climate justice. Endorsement of common climate justice-related beliefs was widespread (e.g., acknowledging the need to give voice to frontline communities, and the underpinning role of colonialism and capitalism in the climate crisis). Climate justice beliefs were associated with various indices of climate action and policy support. These associations tended to be stronger in high emitting countries and where social inequality is a more politically salient topic. The results highlight a risk that less privileged groups, often the most affected, are left out of climate justice discourse.

Based on national survey data from Norway, this study assesses if exposure to the IPCC special report on global warming of 1.5 °C can be associated with support for climate protests and mitigation policies. Respondents were asked if they had heard about the report (closed-ended question) and what they had learned from or about the report (open-ended question). Analyses of the closed-ended question showed that those who had heard about the report were also more likely to express their support for, as well as to plan on engaging in, protest for increased action by the government against climate change. A similar pattern was observed with respect to support for policy changes that can assist in mitigating climate change. Complementary analyses of the open-ended question revealed that evaluative statements formed the largest category of responses. This category included both references to the seriousness of the evolving climate crisis and comments questioning the credibility of the presented information, with the former being the most frequent response. The findings from this study are discussed in the context of public engagement with climate change, with a particular scope on the potential impacts of making the insights from scientific reports known to the general public.

A sample of tourists (N = 780) responded to a survey addressing purchasing intentions and consumption motives in relation to buying sustainable groceries at a local food market. These intentions and motives were contrasted for two consumption contexts: on vacation vs. at home. An initial analysis of the data indicated that self-reported purchasing intentions were weaker for a vacation scenario than for a home scenario. Further analyses suggested that motives associated with purchasing intentions were not universal between contexts. At home, normative motives (i.e., good conscience) were positively associated with intentions, whereas other motives failed to explain significant variance (i.e., value for money, calm and safe, avoid boredom, pleasure, and good impression). On vacation, associations with intentions followed a similar pattern, except for the finding that hedonic motives (i.e., pleasure) added explanatory variance. Despite the increased importance of hedonic motives on vacation compared to at home, normative motives showed the strongest association with purchasing intentions in both consumption contexts. The findings are discussed with reference to the literature on contextual discrepancies in environmental behavior, while noting possible implications for promoting sustainable consumption among tourists.

This study focuses on the relative importance of different facets of efficacy beliefs in explaining the purchasing of products with environmentally friendly attributes. These facets differed based on whether they addressed individual versus collective action, in addition to whether they focused on behavioural execution versus goal attainment. Separate explanatory models were tested for organic food, refillable products, and bio-degradable food, each including goal attractiveness as a covariate. Behavioural self-efficacy was significantly associated with all types of purchases, but behavioural collective efficacy and goal self-efficacy showed only significant associations with purchases of bio-degradable food. Goal collective efficacy and goal attractiveness did not explain additional variance in any of the purchases considered. These findings align with past literature suggesting that efficacy beliefs can have a part in explaining purchasing behaviour, though stressing that the predictive value of specific facets may not generalize across different product types. Future research could investigate these beliefs for other forms of exerting influence as a consumer and/or in respect to social and economic issues related to sustainable development.