Longitudinal relations between climate change concern and psychological wellbeing

• Published in: Journal of environmental psychology 2021-12, Vol.78, p.101713, Article 101713
• Main Authors: McBride, Sarah E., Hammond, Matthew D., Sibley, Chris G., Milfont, Taciano L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Climate change; Cross-lagged model; Longitudinal; Moderation; Stress
• ISSN: 0272-4944; 1522-9610
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101713

Concerns about the effects of climate change are mainstream, and the climate crisis might have greater psychological impact on younger people. We hypothesise that climate concern will have detrimental links with psychological wellbeing over time, and that this association will be more pronounced among younger adults. We test our pre-registered predictions using two waves of an annual national probability panel study—the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Survey (N = 13,453). Cross-lagged models examining effects within the same individuals over time indicated that climate concern predicted a small residual increase in psychological distress, but not in life satisfaction, one year later. However, there was no evidence that the associations varied across age. These longitudinal findings indicate a novel link between climate concern and psychological distress, which is apparent across the adult lifespan. Concerns about climate change effects may negatively impact psychological wellbeingDetrimental effects of climate concern might be stronger for younger peoplePre-registered longitudinal links between climate concern and wellbeing are reportedClimate concern leads to residual increase in psychological distress one-year laterNo effect observed for life satisfaction, and effects were not moderated by age