The Psychological Cost of Climate Change: Anxiety Among Adolescents and Young Adults -A Cross-Sectional Study

Sultan Ayoub Meo ^1* Khalid Mahmood Shafi ² Abid Hussain ³

• ¹ College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• ² National Defence University, Pakistan, Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
• ³ Department of Digitalization, Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark

Objectives: Climate change is an undeniable reality that has never before been experienced at such a higher scale of social, physical, and mental levels. Its impact has been studied at environmental, health, economic and sustainable survival levels, but the toll that it takes on the mind, especially among the youth, needs further studies to highlight the impact. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of climate change on anxiety among adolescents and young adults in the Global South.Methods: This questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among students from all levels of education in the Global South. A total of 760 respondents including 202 from schools, 158 from colleges, and 400 from degree-awarding institutes and universities, (200 were undergraduates and 200 were graduates) voluntarily participated in the study. Based on their age and gender distribution, the average age was 18.56 years, 363 (47.7%) were males, and 397 (52.3%) were females. The Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS) was used to investigate the level of ecological anxiety among the youth in the Global South. The three categories of anxiety symptoms in terms of affective symptoms, behavioural symptoms, and personal impact were investigated.The results revealed that the affective symptom shows a moderate positive and statistically significant relationship with age, higher the age higher the affective symptom of anxiety. Higher income correlates with increased affective symptoms; respondents with higher income showed a mean symptom score of M=1.61. Among education levels, graduates demonstrated the highest mean anxiety symptoms (M=1.78), followed by college (M=1.88), university (M=1.83), and school (M=1.82). Thus, graduates experience the most severe affective symptoms students.The results show a moderate positive and statistically significant relationship between age and income on anxiety symptoms, the higher the age and income higher the affective symptom of anxiety. The youth of the global south feel little anxiety due to climate change; this is detrimental and needs urgent remedial measures. To combat climate change requires a multi-pronged approach, with solutions ranging from personal responsibilities and actions to large-scale systemic changes to tackle this critical challenge.