Factor Structure of the Climate Change Anxiety Scale: An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis

Climate change is a serious global issue with extensive individual and societal consequences, which include significant mental health impacts, one of which is climate anxiety. Understanding the psychological dimensions of climate anxiety is crucial for developing effective interventions. This study clarifies the factor structure of the 13 core items of the Climate Change Anxiety Scale (CCAS), a widely used measure of climate anxiety, by adopting an independent participant data meta-analysis approach and using data from 17 studies with 10,939 participants worldwide. Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, a three-factor model emerges: Functional Impairment (the extent to which climate anxiety interferes with daily life and activities), Intrusive Symptoms (the cognitive and emotional intrusion of climate-related thoughts and worries), and Reflections on Climate Anxiety (a more self-reflective and potentially adaptive engagement with climate worries). We also examine how available variables (gender, age, population categories, country, and language) correlate with these three CCAS factor scores, informing how demographic and sample characteristics may influence climate anxiety. The study provides a more refined understanding of the psychometric properties of the CCAS and improve our conceptualisation of climate anxiety with implications for tailoring interventions to mitigate climate change’s mental health impacts.