Synthesising psychometric evidence for the Climate Anxiety Scale and Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale

Abstract

Two tools have recently been developed to reflect experiences of climate- and eco-anxiety. However, it is not yet clear how these tools perform across countries, thus highlighting a need to synthesise current evidence on their psychometric performance. We consolidated findings from existing validation studies on the Climate Anxiety Scale (CAS) and Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS), and provided new evidence on their performance in Australia (N = 530). We found good support for the four-dimensional HEAS model, both in our data and in the extant literature. Model fit indices for the two-factor CAS in our Australian data were mixed, with some fit indices indicating unsatisfactory fit, and others indicating satisfactory or good fit. This performance was consistent with findings reported in prior CAS validation studies, leading some researchers to propose alternative CAS models. We contributed to the literature by testing all alternative CAS models using our Australian data. Dimensions of climate anxiety and eco-anxiety were closely related, and showed similar patterns of associations with risk perceptions and the ways people engage with environmental news. Validating tools for climate- and eco-anxiety is an important first step in establishing the experience of these anxieties across nations, and understanding their causes and consequences.