DefinePK

Abstract

The prevalence and intensity of climate change, and climate change related disasters is on the rise. Nations around the world have started to focus on mitigation and adaptation towards climate change, but Pakistan is still lacking in this aspect. People are developing fear, anxiety, and negative emotions because of climate change. Therefore, it becomes necessary to focus our attention on the impacts of climate change on the mental health of the masses. The 51-item multidimensional climate change distress scale MCCDS was developed to measure the distress individuals experience due to climate change. A total of n=368 participants were recruited for data collection. For exploratory factor analysis, SPSS was utilized, which revealed a 7-factor solution. The factors extracted were pro-environmental behaviors, eco-hopelessness, eco-emotions, eco-health, solastalgia, need for survival, and lack of planning. The psychometric properties of MCCDS further established the reliability, and convergent validity with climate change anxiety scale. The overall results suggest that the masses experience distress due to climate change, and there is a substantial need to tackle the mental health outcomes of climate change. The results of the current study further strengthen the need for mitigation and adaptation towards climate change. Future implications, and recommendations are also discussed further.