A COSMIN systematic review of the psychometric properties of instruments that measure climate change-related distress

Georgina Ramsay, Marc Williams, Elizabeth Marks, Gareth Morgan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Awareness of the climate crisis has been linked to a range of distressing emotions. Multiple measurement tools have been created to assess climate change-related distress but no reviews have reported on the psychometric properties of these instruments.

Method: A systematic review of psychometric properties of measurements of climate-related distress was conducted following the Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) guidelines. Included articles and instruments were evaluated based on their results and the methodological quality of the studies testing each psychometric property. Ratings of good measurement properties (GMP) and the level of the quality of the evidence across all studies were synthesised by measure.

Results: Thirty-nine studies assessing seven measures were eligible for inclusion. The measures varied with regards to the climate-distress construct they assessed. Content validity was poor for most of the measures due to the methods of their development; an exception was the Eco-Anxiety Questionnaire which had promising results but was only assessed in one study. Most studies (n = 24) evaluated the Climate Change Anxiety Scale (CCAS), which had inconsistent results for structural validity, but was the only measure to have some evidence of cross-cultural validity.

Conclusions: Selection of the most appropriate measure for use should be informed by the construct of interest to the researcher or clinician, or other features of the particular measure. Further research is required in different subgroups, across cultures, evaluating more psychometric properties in higher quality studies. New or existing measures would benefit from qualitative research with a target group of participants to inform the development or refinement of the item set, improve issues with content validity, and ensure the measurements are the most useful for their purpose.
Original languageEnglish
JournalCogent Mental Health
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Jan 2025

Acknowledgements

The first author would like to thank all of the other authors for their time, expertise and support in the process of completing this review.

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