Validating a measure for eco-anxiety in Portuguese young adults and exploring its associations with environmental action
Autor(a) principal: | |
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Data de Publicação: | 2023 |
Outros Autores: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Tipo de documento: | Artigo |
Idioma: | eng |
Título da fonte: | Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
Texto Completo: | http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/47834 |
Resumo: | 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. |
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Validating a measure for eco-anxiety in Portuguese young adults and exploring its associations with environmental actionClimate anxietyEco-anxietyClimate changePro-environmental behaviourBackground 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.BMCRepositório ComumSampaio, FranciscoCosta, TiagoTeixeira-Santos, Luísade Pinho, Lara GuedesSequeira, CarlosLuís, SílviaLoureiro, AnaSoro, Jerônimo C.Roldán Merino, JuanMoreno Poyato, AntonioPeña Loray, Juan SegundoRodríguez Quiroga, AndreaO’Brien, Léan V.Hogg, Teaghan L.Stanley, Samantha K.2023-11-06T08:25:24Z20232023-01-01T00:00:00Zinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/47834eng10.1186/s12889-023-16816-zinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessreponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãoinstacron:RCAAP2023-11-09T07:02:48Zoai:comum.rcaap.pt:10400.26/47834Portal AgregadorONGhttps://www.rcaap.pt/oai/openaireopendoar:71602024-03-19T22:10:06.202373Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãofalse |
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Validating a measure for eco-anxiety in Portuguese young adults and exploring its associations with environmental action |
title |
Validating a measure for eco-anxiety in Portuguese young adults and exploring its associations with environmental action |
spellingShingle |
Validating a measure for eco-anxiety in Portuguese young adults and exploring its associations with environmental action Sampaio, Francisco Climate anxiety Eco-anxiety Climate change Pro-environmental behaviour |
title_short |
Validating a measure for eco-anxiety in Portuguese young adults and exploring its associations with environmental action |
title_full |
Validating a measure for eco-anxiety in Portuguese young adults and exploring its associations with environmental action |
title_fullStr |
Validating a measure for eco-anxiety in Portuguese young adults and exploring its associations with environmental action |
title_full_unstemmed |
Validating a measure for eco-anxiety in Portuguese young adults and exploring its associations with environmental action |
title_sort |
Validating a measure for eco-anxiety in Portuguese young adults and exploring its associations with environmental action |
author |
Sampaio, Francisco |
author_facet |
Sampaio, Francisco Costa, Tiago Teixeira-Santos, Luísa de Pinho, Lara Guedes Sequeira, Carlos Luís, Sílvia Loureiro, Ana Soro, Jerônimo C. Roldán Merino, Juan Moreno Poyato, Antonio Peña Loray, Juan Segundo Rodríguez Quiroga, Andrea O’Brien, Léan V. Hogg, Teaghan L. Stanley, Samantha K. |
author_role |
author |
author2 |
Costa, Tiago Teixeira-Santos, Luísa de Pinho, Lara Guedes Sequeira, Carlos Luís, Sílvia Loureiro, Ana Soro, Jerônimo C. Roldán Merino, Juan Moreno Poyato, Antonio Peña Loray, Juan Segundo Rodríguez Quiroga, Andrea O’Brien, Léan V. Hogg, Teaghan L. Stanley, Samantha K. |
author2_role |
author author author author author author author author author author author author author author |
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv |
Repositório Comum |
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv |
Sampaio, Francisco Costa, Tiago Teixeira-Santos, Luísa de Pinho, Lara Guedes Sequeira, Carlos Luís, Sílvia Loureiro, Ana Soro, Jerônimo C. Roldán Merino, Juan Moreno Poyato, Antonio Peña Loray, Juan Segundo Rodríguez Quiroga, Andrea O’Brien, Léan V. Hogg, Teaghan L. Stanley, Samantha K. |
dc.subject.por.fl_str_mv |
Climate anxiety Eco-anxiety Climate change Pro-environmental behaviour |
topic |
Climate anxiety Eco-anxiety Climate change Pro-environmental behaviour |
description |
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. |
publishDate |
2023 |
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2023-11-06T08:25:24Z 2023 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z |
dc.type.status.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
dc.type.driver.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
format |
article |
status_str |
publishedVersion |
dc.identifier.uri.fl_str_mv |
http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/47834 |
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http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/47834 |
dc.language.iso.fl_str_mv |
eng |
language |
eng |
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10.1186/s12889-023-16816-z |
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info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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openAccess |
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application/pdf |
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BMC |
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BMC |
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Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
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Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação |
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