TY - JOUR
T1 - Validating a measure for eco-anxiety in Portuguese young adults and exploring its associations with environmental action
AU - Sampaio, Francisco
AU - Costa, Tiago
AU - Teixeira-Santos, Luísa
AU - de Pinho, Lara Guedes
AU - Sequeira, Carlos
AU - Luís, Sílvia
AU - Loureiro, Ana
AU - Soro, Jerônimo C.
AU - Roldán Merino, Juan
AU - Moreno Poyato, Antonio
AU - Peña Loray, Juan Segundo
AU - Rodríguez Quiroga, Andrea
AU - O’Brien, Léan V.
AU - Hogg, Teaghan L.
AU - Stanley, Samantha K.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work is financed by national funds through FCT Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., within the scope of the projects “RISE - LA/P/0053/2020”, “UIDP/00713/2020” and “UIDB/05380/2020”.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Background: Worsening environmental conditions may amplify people’s emotional responses to an environmental crisis (eco-anxiety). In Portugal, young people seem to be especially concerned about climate change. However, this phenomenon needs to be interpreted using accurate instruments. Thus, this study aimed to validate the Portuguese version of the Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS) in young adults and examine the associations among eco-anxiety, sociodemographic characteristics, and pro-environmental behaviours. Methods: A survey was administered to 623 Portuguese university students aged between 18 and 25 years. The survey included our Portuguese translation of the HEAS (obtained through a back-translation and pretesting process), a sociodemographic assessment, and questions related to pro-environmental behaviours. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess the construct validity of the Portuguese version of the HEAS, and global fit indices were used to assess whether the original four-dimensional structure of the scale was reproduced. The reliability of the Portuguese version of the HEAS was evaluated by Cronbach’s alpha and the intraclass correlation coefficient. Measurement invariance examined sex differences in scale interpretation. Linear regressions were used to detect whether sociodemographic variables predict eco-anxiety and whether eco-anxiety predicts pro-environmental behaviours. Results: The factorial structure of the original scale was replicated in the Portuguese version of the HEAS, showing good internal consistency, reliability over time and strict invariance between men and women. A higher paternal education level predicted greater eco-anxiety in children. Two dimensions of eco-anxiety—namely, rumination and anxiety about personal impacts on the environment—predicted higher engagement in pro-environmental behaviours. Conclusions: The translated scale is an appropriate tool to measure eco-anxiety in the Portuguese context and should be used to collect evidence to drive environmental and health policies. An individual’s education level should be considered a determinant of their emotional response to environmental conditions. Importantly, eco-anxiety can act as a protective emotional response to preserving the planet.
AB - Background: Worsening environmental conditions may amplify people’s emotional responses to an environmental crisis (eco-anxiety). In Portugal, young people seem to be especially concerned about climate change. However, this phenomenon needs to be interpreted using accurate instruments. Thus, this study aimed to validate the Portuguese version of the Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS) in young adults and examine the associations among eco-anxiety, sociodemographic characteristics, and pro-environmental behaviours. Methods: A survey was administered to 623 Portuguese university students aged between 18 and 25 years. The survey included our Portuguese translation of the HEAS (obtained through a back-translation and pretesting process), a sociodemographic assessment, and questions related to pro-environmental behaviours. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess the construct validity of the Portuguese version of the HEAS, and global fit indices were used to assess whether the original four-dimensional structure of the scale was reproduced. The reliability of the Portuguese version of the HEAS was evaluated by Cronbach’s alpha and the intraclass correlation coefficient. Measurement invariance examined sex differences in scale interpretation. Linear regressions were used to detect whether sociodemographic variables predict eco-anxiety and whether eco-anxiety predicts pro-environmental behaviours. Results: The factorial structure of the original scale was replicated in the Portuguese version of the HEAS, showing good internal consistency, reliability over time and strict invariance between men and women. A higher paternal education level predicted greater eco-anxiety in children. Two dimensions of eco-anxiety—namely, rumination and anxiety about personal impacts on the environment—predicted higher engagement in pro-environmental behaviours. Conclusions: The translated scale is an appropriate tool to measure eco-anxiety in the Portuguese context and should be used to collect evidence to drive environmental and health policies. An individual’s education level should be considered a determinant of their emotional response to environmental conditions. Importantly, eco-anxiety can act as a protective emotional response to preserving the planet.
KW - Climate anxiety
KW - Climate change
KW - Eco-anxiety
KW - Pro-environmental behaviour
KW - Psychometrics
KW - Scale validation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85173034963&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s12889-023-16816-z
DO - 10.1186/s12889-023-16816-z
M3 - Article
C2 - 37784133
AN - SCOPUS:85173034963
SN - 1471-2458
VL - 23
SP - 1
EP - 10
JO - BMC Public Health
JF - BMC Public Health
IS - 1
M1 - 1905
ER -