Green-minded fear: Addressing Eco-anxiety through Environmental Self-efficacy

Abstract

In an era where environmental and climate degradation is rampant, as a consequence of human activity, many individuals are experiencing anxiety as they begin to grasp what this means for their own future and that of future generations. The South African context provides individuals with numerous socio-economic factors that tend to cause far greater concern which may suppress the perceived severity of these environmental changes. This study aimed to examine this anxiety, known as eco-anxiety, in a sample of 218 young adults from the University of the Witwatersrand, and how the element of perceived self-efficacy plays a role in influencing eco-anxiety. The participants were recruited through online surveys that were distributed through the University’s student email communication systems. The survey consisted of a demographic questionnaire, questions about eco-anxiety, and their current environmental self-efficacy. A correlational, quantitative research design was utilised to examine this relationship. The Eco-anxiety Questionnaire (EAQ-22) and the Environmental Self-Efficacy (ESE-20) were utilised for the first time in the South African context, and this study aimed to validate these scales and determine their reliability. The South African context has unique socio-cultural and economic challenges, and the research explored how this influences the perceptions and behaviours toward environmentalism. Statistical analysis was conducted, where descriptive and inferential statistics were analysed, as well as confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis techniques were utilised for scale validation in the South African context. The findings suggest that the original EAQ-22 was a valid and reliable instrument to use, however, the ESE-20 required a new structure as the original structure was not a good fit for the South African context. The findings of the Pearson correlations indicated that there was no relationship between eco-anxiety and environmental self-efficacy. Furthermore, the independent samples t-test found no statistically significant differences in eco-anxiety and environmental self-efficacy scores in terms of age, gender, or geographical location.