Climate worry and mental health: the role of pro-environmental behavior and efficacy-based hope as coping strategies

Abstract

We examined how climate worry, societal and individual efficacy-based climate hope (as a meaning-focused coping strategy), and pro-environmental behavior (PEB; as a problem-focused coping strategy) are related to mental health, namely, depressive and anxiety symptoms. We also studied whether efficacy-based climate hope or PEB (as a problem-focused coping strategy) moderate the association between climate worry and mental health problems. Furthermore, we examined whether PEB, when combined with efficacy-based climate hope, served as a protective factor for mental health. We investigated these associations among Finnish adults (N = 5701) from the ten largest cities in Finland. High levels of climate worry were associated with greater likelihood of experiencing more severe depressive (odds ratio (OR) 1.39, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.13–1.69) and anxiety (OR 1.91, 95 % CI 1.52–2.40) symptoms than low levels of climate worry. Low levels of societal efficacy-based hope were associated with greater likelihood of experiencing more severe depressive (OR 1.26, 95 % CI 1.04–1.69) and anxiety (OR 1.26, 95 % CI 1.02–1.58) symptoms than high levels of societal efficacy-based climate hope. Neither efficacy-based climate hope nor PEB moderated the association between climate worry and mental health. However, individual efficacy-based climate hope moderated the association between PEB and both mental health outcomes. Among those who showed more engagement in PEB, lower levels of individual efficacy-based hope were associated with greater odds of experiencing depressive and anxiety symptoms, in comparison to those who showed more PEB and had higher levels of hope. Although climate worry was related to mental health symptoms in our study, we suggest that the focus of psychological adaptation to climate crisis should not be on eliminating worry, but on finding a way to channel it. Based on our findings, it is possible that a coping strategy integrating behavioral engagement with climate hope may support planetary health by mitigating mental health impacts of climate crisis while simultaneously strengthening commitment to climate change mitigation.