Climate anxiety in our nature: Appraisal of climate anxiety and the role of nature connectedness

Global climate change has increasing effects on mental health and well-being (e.g., in the form of climate anxiety), both through direct exposure to its consequences (e.g., extreme weather) and through indirect exposure (i.e., the social representation or appraisal of climate change without direct contact to its physical consequences). To help people cope with distress due to climate anxiety, nature connectedness is suggested as one possible pathway. At the same time, mixed evidence of both a positive relation between climate anxiety and nature connectedness and absence of such a relation is accumulating. Such seemingly contradictory recommendations and findings may indicate that the constituents of climate anxiety are not well understood yet. This research aims to increase conceptual clarity of the concept of climate anxiety as a distinct emotional response to climate change. More specifically, I will explore two questions: 1) How can appraisal theories of emotion be used to explain climate anxiety? 2) How might nature connectedness influence the appraisal pattern of climate anxiety? To address these questions, I will present findings of a literature review and conceptual framework and preliminary analyses of a sample of N=2000 participants (stratified for age, gender, and education).