Exploring eco-anxiety in Italian adolescents: psychometric evaluation of the Climate Change Anxiety Scale and theoretical insights into the association with pro-environmental attitudes

Introduction: Climate change significantly impacts the health and future of adolescents, yet they have limited ability to prevent its effects, leaving them especially vulnerable to climate anxiety. The present study aims to first explore the psychometric properties of the Climate Change Anxiety Scale among adolescents in Italy (Study 1), and to investigate the psychological pathways through which climate change anxiety impacts adolescents’ pro-environmental attitudes, examining the mediating roles of climate change worry and rumination related to eco-anxiety (Study 2). Methods: In Study 1, the psychometric properties (i.e., dimensionality, internal consistency, sex invariance and convergent validity) of the CCAS were explored using a sample of 250 high school students (45.60% F, Mage = 16.13, SDage = 1.44). In Study 2, the mediation model was tested in a new sample of 250 high school students (51.60% F, Mage = 16.12, SDage = 1.58). Results: In Study 1, the CCAS showed a two-factor structure (i.e., cognitive impairment and functional impairment) with a good fit [χ2 (df) = 83.980(64), p = 0.05; RMSEA [90% CI] = 0.02[0.002;0.025]; CFI = 0.995; SRMR = 0.054]. McDonald’s Omega values were 0.91 and 0.87. Sex invariance was obtained only at the configural level. Both the CCAS factors were positively correlated with climate change worry, whereas only cognitive impairment was positively associated with pro-environmental attitudes. In Study 2, results of the mediation model showed that higher CCAS predicted both higher climate change worry and higher rumination related to eco-anxiety, which in turn predicted higher pro-environmental attitudes. The direct path from CCAS to pro-environmental attitudes was also significant, indicating a negative relationship. The model explained 17% of the total variance, and all the indirect effects were significant. Discussion: The CCAS showed satisfactory psychometric properties among Italian adolescents. The exploratory model suggests that in adolescents, worry and rumination may have an adaptive role by transforming climate change anxiety into pro-environmental attitudes.