Purpose -Climate change news and educational awareness programs have swamped Australia in the past four years, with earlier campaigns raising awareness in Europe and the USA via television and the internet. What is the impact on people's psychological states of such concerns? The purpose of this paper is to explore the psychological impact of climate change within the general population and investigate what makes an individual vulnerable to distress. Design/methodology/approach -A questionnaire was completed by 275 adults that assessed personality factors as well as environmental beliefs and religiosity. The design was cross-sectional, and correlational analyses determined the associations between climate change distress and symptoms indicative of depression, anxiety and stress. Independent samples t-tests and ANOVA revealed group differences for age and gender. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to identify important, unique predictors and to determine the extent to which environmental beliefs, future anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty and religiosity accounted for the variability in climate change measures beyond the effects of age and gender. Findings -This study indicates that the public is becoming increasingly concerned about climate change and that there is a relationship between this concern and symptoms that are indicative of depression, anxiety and stress. The results indicate that an individual is more likely to be distressed about climate change if they are female, under the age of 35 years, have a pro-environmental orientation, and possess personality traits such as high levels of future anxiety. Originality/value -Bringing attention to the existence of climate change distress, understanding the extent of these fears and what makes a person vulnerable will be helpful in the treatment and prevention of general and clinical levels of climate-related distress.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Departing from a deprivation approach to the study of trauma, a small body of literature has recently emerged that examines positive, rather than negative, post-trauma changes. Studies to date have focused on individuals' positive reactions to a personally endured traumatic event for example, as bereaved parents, living with HIV/AIDS, or surviving cancer. Negative symptoms following a traumatic event that is experienced during the course of fulfilling professional obligations (e.g., in ambulance, fire and police services), are reported to be akin to the negative post-trauma symptoms found in direct survivors of a traumatic event. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of self-reported positive changes (posttraumatic growth) in emergency ambulance personnel, a population that are readily exposed to potentially traumatic incidents. Results indicated that a large proportion of both seasoned ambulance personnel and new recruits to the service, perceived positive changes in themselves that they attributed to having experienced a traumatic event at work. A significant mean difference was also detected between personnel who had endured a personal trauma in addition to a work-related trauma (n = 281) and personnel who had endured trauma only in the course of their employment responsibilities (n = 217). The study supports theoretical and clinical expectations that the experience of occupational trauma can act as a catalyst for significant positive post-trauma changes.