Evaluation of Adult Individuals' Climate Change Concern and Mental Well-Being Levels in Türkiye: A Descriptive and Correlational Study.

Abstract

Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the relationship between climate change concerns and mental well-being levels in adult individuals.

Design: A descriptive and correlational study.

Sample: The study was conducted with 513 adult individuals who applied to primary healthcare institutions between May and October 2022 in Türkiye.

Measurements: The research data were collected face-to-face using an introductory information form, the Climate Change Worry Scale (CCWS), and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS).

Results: Among the occupations of the adults participating in the survey, the group most affected by climate change was greenhouse cultivation with 30.8%. The top three most common events experienced by the participants in the study are forest fire (40.6%), earthquake (29.2%), and flood (19.7%). In the study, the mean CCWS score of adults was 33.92 ± 10.27 and the mean WEMWBS score was 50.20 ± 11.88. A positive correlation was found between the total, anxiety, and feeling of helplessness sub-dimensions of the CCWS and the mean score of WEMWBS (p < 0.001). The mean scores of CCWS and WEMWBS of the participants who stated that they experienced an extraordinary event related to climate change, who had a relative who experienced these events, who followed these events from the media, and the mean scores of CCWS of those who experienced these events themselves were found to be significantly higher (p < 0.05). The mean scores of CCWS and WEMWBS were higher for those who experienced forest fire and flood disasters; CCWS for those who experienced tornado; and WEMWBS for those who experienced earthquake and storm/hurricane (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: One of the most important results of the study is that there is a positive relationship between the sub-dimensions of helplessness due to climate concern and the level of mental well-being. It is important to increase climate change awareness activities at individual and community levels.