Authors: Kiran Bala Salaan
Abstract: Climate change is increasingly recognised not only as an environmental crisis but also as a psychological stressor with measurable consequences for mental health. This paper develops a conceptual and empirical framework for understanding the relationship between climate change anxiety (CCA) and psychological well-being, proposing a moderated-mediation model in which coping strategies mediate the relationship between climate change anxiety and well-being. At the same time, resilience moderates the strength of this association. Drawing on the transactional model of stress and coping and on eudaimonic models of well-being, the paper argues that climate anxiety exerts both direct and indirect effects on well-being: maladaptive coping strategies, such as avoidance and denial, are expected to predict poorer psychological outcomes, whereas adaptive, problem-focused and meaning-focused coping strategies are expected to predict more favourable outcomes. Resilience is proposed to buffer the negative effects of climate anxiety, such that individuals higher in resilience are expected to show a weaker association between climate anxiety and diminished well-being than individuals lower in resilience. A quantitative, cross-sectional methodology is proposed, using validated instruments including the Climate Anxiety Scale, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Brief COPE, and Ryff's Scales of Psychological Well-Being, analysed through moderated-mediation regression modelling. Implications for climate-aware mental health interventions, resilience-building programs, and future longitudinal research are discussed.
DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21640782
