Threat Severity and Threat Susceptibility Are Significantly Correlated with Climate Distress in Australian Mothers
Barkin, Jennifer L., Dimmock, James, Heenan, Lacee, Clancy, James, Carr, Heather, and Pardon, Madelyn K. (2024) Threat Severity and Threat Susceptibility Are Significantly Correlated with Climate Distress in Australian Mothers. Climate, 12 (11). 168.
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Abstract
Climate change presents a critical global crisis, characterized by rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and shifting climate patterns. Vulnerable populations bear a disproportionate share of these impacts, with women at heightened risk due to unequal access to resources, decision-making power, and social roles. Postpartum women specifically face further unique challenges as they strive to protect their children, amplifying the psychological toll of climate change. The current study explores climate distress in a sample of 101 postpartum women in Australia (Mage = 31.14 years), whose youngest child was (on average) 5 months of age, examining factors associated with their psychological responses to climate threats. Correlational analyses reveal that perceptions of threat severity (r = 0.621, p ≤ 0.01) and susceptibility (r = 0.695, p ≤ 0.01) are strongly linked to climate distress. These findings highlight the need to further investigate the distinct psychological pathways climate-related anxiety operates through in postpartum women. The study underscores the importance of targeted interventions to support this vulnerable population as they face increasing climate-related stressors.
| Item ID: | 85265 |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 2225-1154 |
| Copyright Information: | Copyright: © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Date Deposited: | 29 Apr 2025 02:22 |
| FoR Codes: | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified @ 50% 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4101 Climate change impacts and adaptation > 410103 Human impacts of climate change and human adaptation @ 50% |
| SEO Codes: | 28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280121 Expanding knowledge in psychology @ 100% |
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