Navigating environmental stress: Climate change impacts on adults' mental health in the Middle East

<h3>Background and objectives</h3><p dir="ltr">Climate change anxiety is a critical concept in climate change-related mental health symptoms, yet it has not been clearly defined. This study aims to investigate the prevalence rates of climate change anxiety, distress, and...

وصف كامل

محفوظ في:
التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
المؤلف الرئيسي: Fahmi Hassan Fadhel (22695668) (author)
مؤلفون آخرون: Shaikha Abdulla Al Seyabi (22826966) (author)
منشور في: 2025
الموضوعات:
الوسوم: إضافة وسم
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author Fahmi Hassan Fadhel (22695668)
author2 Shaikha Abdulla Al Seyabi (22826966)
author2_role author
author_facet Fahmi Hassan Fadhel (22695668)
Shaikha Abdulla Al Seyabi (22826966)
author_role author
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Fahmi Hassan Fadhel (22695668)
Shaikha Abdulla Al Seyabi (22826966)
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025-12-01T00:00:00Z
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv 10.1016/j.geopsy.2025.100031
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Navigating_environmental_stress_Climate_change_impacts_on_adults_mental_health_in_the_Middle_East/30858314
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv CC BY 4.0
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Biomedical and clinical sciences
Clinical sciences
Health sciences
Health services and systems
Human society
Human geography
Psychology
Social and personality psychology
Climate change anxiety
Worry
Distress
Mental health
Arab countries
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Navigating environmental stress: Climate change impacts on adults' mental health in the Middle East
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Text
Journal contribution
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
text
contribution to journal
description <h3>Background and objectives</h3><p dir="ltr">Climate change anxiety is a critical concept in climate change-related mental health symptoms, yet it has not been clearly defined. This study aims to investigate the prevalence rates of climate change anxiety, distress, and worry in Arabic settings.</p><h3>Methods</h3><p dir="ltr">An online across-sectional survey was conducted targeting various societal groups in Qatar, with a total of 791 participants. Of these, 61.2 % were male (n = 484) and 38.8 % were female (n = 307). Participants completed the Arabic version of the CCAS, the Climate Change Worry Scale (CCWS), and the Climate Distress Scale (CDS). Ages ranged from 18 to 60 years, with a mean of 32.93 (SD ± 8.918).</p><h3>Results</h3><p dir="ltr">The prevalence rate of climate change anxiety was higher, with 38.18 % of participants scoring higher on the CCAS, 47.40 % scoring higher on the CDS, and 43.99 % scoring higher on the CCWS. The differences between males and females were significant. Males scored higher than females on all scales. Participants aged 28–36 were more concerned about the climate than those aged 18–27 (F = 4.064, P < .001). Those with a preparatory school education scored higher on climate change anxiety than those with a higher degree (F = 4.623, P < .001). Married participants experienced more distress from climate change (F = 6.214, P < .001).</p><h3>Conclusion</h3><p dir="ltr">Our findings emphasize the high level of concern regarding climate change, highlighting the urgent need for psychological interventions. These results underscore the importance of studying climate change anxiety and utilizing valid instruments to assess change-related distress in Arab settings. These findings can be valuable for designing psychological interventions and climate change mitigation programs.</p><h2>Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: Geopsychiatry<br>License: <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geopsy.2025.100031" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geopsy.2025.100031</a></p>
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
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spelling Navigating environmental stress: Climate change impacts on adults' mental health in the Middle EastFahmi Hassan Fadhel (22695668)Shaikha Abdulla Al Seyabi (22826966)Biomedical and clinical sciencesClinical sciencesHealth sciencesHealth services and systemsHuman societyHuman geographyPsychologySocial and personality psychologyClimate change anxietyWorryDistressMental healthArab countries<h3>Background and objectives</h3><p dir="ltr">Climate change anxiety is a critical concept in climate change-related mental health symptoms, yet it has not been clearly defined. This study aims to investigate the prevalence rates of climate change anxiety, distress, and worry in Arabic settings.</p><h3>Methods</h3><p dir="ltr">An online across-sectional survey was conducted targeting various societal groups in Qatar, with a total of 791 participants. Of these, 61.2 % were male (n = 484) and 38.8 % were female (n = 307). Participants completed the Arabic version of the CCAS, the Climate Change Worry Scale (CCWS), and the Climate Distress Scale (CDS). Ages ranged from 18 to 60 years, with a mean of 32.93 (SD ± 8.918).</p><h3>Results</h3><p dir="ltr">The prevalence rate of climate change anxiety was higher, with 38.18 % of participants scoring higher on the CCAS, 47.40 % scoring higher on the CDS, and 43.99 % scoring higher on the CCWS. The differences between males and females were significant. Males scored higher than females on all scales. Participants aged 28–36 were more concerned about the climate than those aged 18–27 (F = 4.064, P < .001). Those with a preparatory school education scored higher on climate change anxiety than those with a higher degree (F = 4.623, P < .001). Married participants experienced more distress from climate change (F = 6.214, P < .001).</p><h3>Conclusion</h3><p dir="ltr">Our findings emphasize the high level of concern regarding climate change, highlighting the urgent need for psychological interventions. These results underscore the importance of studying climate change anxiety and utilizing valid instruments to assess change-related distress in Arab settings. These findings can be valuable for designing psychological interventions and climate change mitigation programs.</p><h2>Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: Geopsychiatry<br>License: <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geopsy.2025.100031" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geopsy.2025.100031</a></p>2025-12-01T00:00:00ZTextJournal contributioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersiontextcontribution to journal10.1016/j.geopsy.2025.100031https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Navigating_environmental_stress_Climate_change_impacts_on_adults_mental_health_in_the_Middle_East/30858314CC BY 4.0info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:figshare.com:article/308583142025-12-01T00:00:00Z
spellingShingle Navigating environmental stress: Climate change impacts on adults' mental health in the Middle East
Fahmi Hassan Fadhel (22695668)
Biomedical and clinical sciences
Clinical sciences
Health sciences
Health services and systems
Human society
Human geography
Psychology
Social and personality psychology
Climate change anxiety
Worry
Distress
Mental health
Arab countries
status_str publishedVersion
title Navigating environmental stress: Climate change impacts on adults' mental health in the Middle East
title_full Navigating environmental stress: Climate change impacts on adults' mental health in the Middle East
title_fullStr Navigating environmental stress: Climate change impacts on adults' mental health in the Middle East
title_full_unstemmed Navigating environmental stress: Climate change impacts on adults' mental health in the Middle East
title_short Navigating environmental stress: Climate change impacts on adults' mental health in the Middle East
title_sort Navigating environmental stress: Climate change impacts on adults' mental health in the Middle East
topic Biomedical and clinical sciences
Clinical sciences
Health sciences
Health services and systems
Human society
Human geography
Psychology
Social and personality psychology
Climate change anxiety
Worry
Distress
Mental health
Arab countries