Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 29, 2025

Polar Histogram Visualization of Acute Stress Disorder Scale Scores for Comprehensive Clinical Assessment
Published on: December 6, 2024
Relationships between climate change distress, generalized anxiety, and climate-related symptoms of mental disorders
John B Nezlek1,2, Marzena Cypryańska1
1Center for Climate Action and Social Transformations, Institute of Psychology, SWPS University, Warsaw, Poland.
Background And Objective:
We examined the possibility that reactions to climate change take two forms: distress, which may be adaptive, and symptoms of mental disorders, which may not be.
Design And Method:
In a national sample of Polish adults (n = 1133), we measured climate change distress (experiencing unpleasant emotions and feelings due to climate change), climate-related symptoms of mental disorders (e.g., problems sleeping and problems working and planning), generalized anxiety, and depression.
Results:
Zero-inflated Poisson regression analyses of the occurrence of climate-related symptoms of mental disorders found two latent classes: People who experienced symptoms of the disorder and those who did not. For all eight symptoms, climate change distress predicted membership in the latent class of people who experienced a symptom, whereas how often people in the non-zero latent class experienced each symptom was positively related to generalized anxiety but was not related to distress or depression.
Conclusions:
These results suggest that reactions to climate change take two forms. Some people do not experience climate change-related symptoms of mental disorders, and some do. People who experience symptoms have higher levels of climate change distress, and the frequency with which they experience these symptoms is determined by their dispositional, generalized anxiety.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Stress and Mental Health
Individuals with depression often experience challenges in both their personal and professional...
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety: Overview
Individuals with anxiety often experience a range of physical and emotional symptoms, including sweating, trembling, tachycardia, and disturbances in sleep patterns. These symptoms vary in intensity and frequency but are generally disruptive and distressing.
Social Anxiety Disorder
Psychological Responses to Stress
Panic Disorder

