(PS2-89) Analyzing the Relationship Between Climate Change Distress and Climate Change Vulnerability

Abstract Text: As human-caused global climate change worsens, so does its associated public health crises. Among these is the potential for widespread mental health impacts (e.g., Cianconi et al., 2020, Palinkas et al., 2020). Just as understanding the mechanisms of climate change is key to addressing its effects, understanding how climate change affects mental health is critical to adequately serving the populations most affected by it. Through this project, researchers seek to explore the possible relationship between climate change distress (CCD), geographic vulnerability to climate change, and potential sociodemographic factors. Participants completed a demographic survey, including their zipcode, and the Climate Change Distress and Impairment Scale (Hepp, 2023). Zipcodes were assessed for climate vulnerability via the U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index, an interactive map which provides climate change risk scores to geographic regions based on climate data (Lewis et al., 2023). Scores represent vulnerability to extreme climate change-related weather events, as well as vulnerability to socioeconomic and health impacts. Participants for this study were a diverse sample from across the United States (N = 125; 71 women, 39 men, 5 non-binary; M age = 37.59 years), including 79 White, 13 African American, 9 Asian, 7 Latino/a/x, 1 Native Hawaiian, 1 other, and 15 of more than one ethnicity. On average, participants reported moderate climate change distress (M = 56.71, SD = 13.21 out of a maximum score of 75), suggesting that distress about climate change is pervasive and widespread. Analyses examined the relationship between CCD, climate vulnerability and key sociodemographic factors. Results indicated that the correlation between CCD and climate vulnerability was small and not significant, r = 0.07, p = 0.50. In terms of demographics analyses, findings were mixed. A correlation analysis demonstrated that CCD was not significantly correlated with participant age, r = -0.14, p = .12. An independent samples t-test found that CCD was marginally higher for participants without children compared to those with children, t(115) = 1.73, p = 0.09, d = 0.34. Similarly, CCD was marginally higher among non-immigrants compared to immigrants, t(117) = 1.76, p = 0.08, d = 0.52. Additional analyses will examine potential interactions between climate vulnerability and sociodemographic factors on climate change distress. This project highlights the widespread nature of climate change anxiety as a stressor, which may have implications for mental health professionals in a world where climate change continues to worsen.