Validating a measure for eco-anxiety in Portuguese young adults and exploring its associations with environmental action

Abstract

Background Worsening environmental conditions may amplify people’s emotional responses to an environmental crisis (eco-anxiety). In Portugal, young people seem to be especially concerned about climate change. However, this phenomenon needs to be interpreted using accurate instruments. Thus, this study aimed to validate the Portuguese version of the Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS) in young adults and examine the associations among eco-anxiety, sociodemographic characteristics, and pro-environmental behaviours. Methods A survey was administered to 623 Portuguese university students aged between 18 and 25 years. The survey included our Portuguese translation of the HEAS (obtained through a back-translation and pretesting process), a sociodemographic assessment, and questions related to pro-environmental behaviours. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess the construct validity of the Portuguese version of the HEAS, and global fit indices were used to assess whether the original four-dimensional structure of the scale was reproduced. The reliability of the Portuguese version of the HEAS was evaluated by Cronbach’s alpha and the intraclass correlation coefficient. Measurement invariance examined sex differences in scale interpretation. Linear regressions were used to detect whether sociodemographic variables predict eco-anxiety and whether eco-anxiety predicts pro-environmental behaviours. Results The factorial structure of the original scale was replicated in the Portuguese version of the HEAS, showing good internal consistency, reliability over time and strict invariance between men and women. A higher paternal education level predicted greater eco-anxiety in children. Two dimensions of eco-anxiety—namely, rumination and anxiety about personal impacts on the environment—predicted higher engagement in pro-environmental behaviours. Conclusions The translated scale is an appropriate tool to measure eco-anxiety in the Portuguese context and should be used to collect evidence to drive environmental and health policies. An individual’s education level should be considered a determinant of their emotional response to environmental conditions. Importantly, eco-anxiety can act as a protective emotional response to preserving the planet.

Psychometric validation of the French version of the Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS-FR).

“…This confirms the multidimensional conceptualization of eco-anxiety, as evidenced by the superior fit of the four-factor structure compared with the one-factor structure. This finding aligns with those of the previous studies conducted across different countries and cultures, as the four-factor structure was originally observed in Australia (Hogg et al, 2021) and replicated in Turkey (Uzun et al, 2022), Australia (Hogg et al, 2023), and Portugal (Sampaio et al, 2023). The HEAS-FR subscales demonstrated acceptable-to-good internal consistency with coefficients similar to those reported by Hogg et al (2021, 2023).…”

Mental health during ecological crisis: translating and validating the Hogg Eco-anxiety Scale for Argentinian and Spanish populations

“…The data gathered replicated the original four-dimensional structure of the HEAS [ 7 ] and showed that the HEAS-SP had excellent model fit and psychometric properties, corroborating our first hypothesis. Our findings add to a growing list of successful HEAS validation studies, including from Australia [ 9 ], Turkey [ 11 ], Portugal [ 10 ], Germany [ 12 ], France [ 13 ], and Italy [ 14 ]. Each HEAS item loaded strongly onto its corresponding latent factor, indicating that each item is a good indicator of its underlying construct, and we found evidence of good internal consistency.…”

“…Importantly, while the HEAS has previously demonstrated invariance across gender in young Portuguese adults [ 10 ] and between gender and age groups in Australian adults [ 9 ], our results are the first to investigate and show measurement invariance across countries. Demonstrated measurement invariance in the HEAS-SP across the Spanish and Argentinian sub-samples indicated that the HEAS-SP has the same measurement properties across these countries, which aligns with our second hypothesis.…”

“…The HEAS has so far shown excellent psychometric performance, albeit in a limited number of countries and languages [ 9 ]. The four-dimensional structure has been validated with English-speaking samples from Australia [ 9 ] and New Zealand [ 7 ], and in translated versions it has been validated in Portugal [ 10 ], Turkey [ 11 ], Germany [ 12 ], France [ 13 ] and Italy [ 14 ]. To our knowledge, no research to date has adapted the HEAS for use with Spanish-speaking populations.…”

“…Hogg et al have previously reported higher affective eco-anxiety and personal impact anxiety in women than men, and no difference on behavioural symptoms or rumination. In the study in Portugal, however, no differences emerged [ 10 ], and in the study in Turkey it was not analysed [ 11 ]. Thus further investigations are needed to build up a picture of the gendered aspects of eco-anxiety.…”