Psychometric properties of the German Hogg Eco-Anxiety scale and its associations with psychological distress, self-efficacy and social support

Abstract

Abstract Background The present study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the German Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS) as a reliable and valid instrument to measure eco-anxiety, and to explore its associations with sociodemographic and psychological variables. Methods 322 German speaking participants (67.4% female; M = 36.64 [SD = 14.77] years old) were recruited via the internet and social media. Confirmatory factor analyses, reliability and correlational analyses, independent sample t-tests, and a multiple regression analysis were conducted. Results Both in confirmatory factor analyses tested models were acceptable with an even better model fit of the four-factorial structure (CFI = 0.96, TLI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.08, SRMR = 0.04) than of the second-order model (CFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.08, SRMR = 0.06). The HEAS total scale (α = 0.91, ω = 0.91) and the HEAS subscales Affective Symptoms (α = 0.87, ω = 0.86), Rumination (α = 0.84, ω = 0.84), Behavioral Symptoms (α = 0.79, ω = 0.79) and Personal Impact Anxiety (α = 0.90, ω = 0.90) had good to excellent internal consistency coefficients. Correlational analyses showed significant associations between the HEAS total scale and subscales and measures of climate anxiety, psychological distress, partially self-efficacy and social support as well as some sociodemographic variables. Some significant sociodemographic differences were found for the HEAS total scale and subscales regarding gender and parental status but not age groups. Our multiple regression analysis resulted in psychological distress as the only significant predictor of eco-anxiety. Conclusion The German HEAS is a reliable and valid instrument to assess anxiety about ecological problems.

Keywords

• Eco-anxiety
• Climate anxiety
• Mental health
• Psychological distress
• Psychometrics