CONCERN AND EMOTIONS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE AND MENTAL HEALTH OF STUDENTS BEFORE AND AFTER AN EXTREME WEATHER EVENT IN RIO GRANDE DO SUL-BRAZIL

  1. Leandro Quadro Corrêa
  2. Bruno Pedrini de Almeida
  3. Suzana Oliveira Santos
  4. Sthefanie Costa Espírito Santo
  5. João Venícios Tavares de Souza
  6. Denis De Ávila Pereira
  7. Cleber Da Silva Oliveira Júnior
  8. Camilly Luisi Costa Furtado
  9. Samuel De Carvalho Dumith
  10. Michael Pereira da Silva

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to verify and test the association between concern and negative emotions about climate change and depression, anxiety, and stress in students in Rio Grande, Brazil, before and after the 2024 extreme climate event. This is a quantitative study, with before and after measurements, with a single group. The questions measured the outcome: “Are you concerned about climate change?” and “Do you have negative emotions about climate change or thoughts and feelings that bad things could happen to the planet because of climate change?” The DASS-21 measured mental health. Adjusted analyses were conducted using linear regression, with results presented in beta coefficient and 95% CI. We observed an increasing concern (p=0.004) and negative emotions about the climate (p=0.019), depression (p=0.047), anxiety (p=0.043), and stress (p=0.010) symptoms from pre- to post-event. The depression score increased significantly in those who were concerned about climate change before and after the event (b=4.64, 95%CI=1.91; 7.38; p=0.006), as did depression and anxiety scores in those with negative emotions about the climate (b=5.11, 95%CI=1.59; 8.62; p=0.015; (b=4.43, 95%CI=1.28; 7.78; p=0.028, respectively). It is concluded that the students assessed increased their concern and negative emotions about the climate and deteriorated mental health after an extreme event.

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  1. PREreview

    This Zenodo record is a permanently preserved version of a Structured PREreview. You can view the complete PREreview at https://prereview.org/reviews/14034884.

    Does the introduction explain the objective of the research presented in the preprint? Yes
    Are the methods well-suited for this research? Highly appropriate
    Are the conclusions supported by the data? Highly supported
    Are the data presentations, including visualizations, well-suited to represent the data? Somewhat appropriate and clear
    How clearly do the authors discuss, explain, and interpret their findings and potential next steps for the research? Somewhat clearly
    Is the preprint likely to advance academic knowledge? Highly likely
    Would it benefit from language editing? No
    Would you recommend this preprint to others? Yes, it's of high quality
    Is it ready for attention from an editor, publisher or broader audience? Yes, as it is

    Competing interests

    The author declares that they have no competing interests.

  2. Version published to 10.1590/scielopreprints.10237 on SciELO Preprints