What are the emotions related to climate change that can be reliably measured? Thanks to the tremendous work of our team, we have constructed a multi-scale Inventory of Climate Emotions (ICE)!
Check out the manuscript presenting the validation of ICE: https://psyarxiv.com/s9gzb/
Abstract
There is a growing research interest in the affective aspects of climate change and their links with pro-climate engagement as well as with health and well-being. Yet, psychometrically valid instruments assessing the wide panorama of climate change emotions are limited. Here, we report on the development and validation of the Inventory of Climate Emotions (ICE), a self-report measure of multiple emotions experienced in relation to climate change. Based on qualitative exploration, literature review, along with expert and target population content validation, we formulated a large initial item pool. High psychometric quality of the ICE was secured in three quantitative studies conducted in samples from the general population in Poland. In Study 1, based on exploratory factor analysis, we indicate that the emotional experience of climate change can be viably captured by 8 underlying factors: anger, contempt, enthusiasm, powerlessness, guilt, isolation, anxiety, and sorrow. This structure was corroborated in Study 2 with confirmatory factor analysis on an independent sample. In Study 3, we estimated the repeatability of the ICE scores demonstrating that the ICE assesses moderately stable affective dispositions. Across studies, we provided evidence for the reliability and validity of the ICE in terms of internal consistency of the scales and convergent, discriminant and concurrent validity. We also showed the functionality of the ICE in the context of climate change mitigation and mental health. The ICE provides a novel integrative approach to climate change emotions, and it can be used to further the understanding of the complex role of emotions in planetary health.
Keywordsclimate change, climate emotions, climate anxiety, climate depression, questionnaire, planetary health