/library/oar/handle/123456789/341 2025-12-25T08:13:22Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/134245 Title: An exploration of eco-anxiety and environmental engagement in Malta using a mixed-methods research design Authors: Bonello, Claire; Lauri, Mary Anne Abstract: The ongoing ecological crisis has stirred profound emotional, cognitive, and behavioural responses among individuals worldwide. One emotional response that has entered psychological research is eco-anxiety, which stems from concern over environmental events and the deteriorating state of our planet. Eco-anxiety can manifest in practical or debilitating forms, which can either lead to action or inaction, respectively, with the possibility of eco-anxiety becoming maladaptive. This study examined eco-anxiety, pro-environmental intentions and pro-environmental behaviours within the Maltese population, employing an explanatory sequential mixed methods research design, and adopting appraisal theory and the Campbell Paradigm of Attitudes as theoretical frameworks. The 13-item Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale was utilised to identify eco-anxiety levels in 243 Maltese adults through an online questionnaire. Furthermore, we explored the relationships of eco-anxiety with pro-environmental intentions and behaviours, and climate change news exposure. Both pro-environmental intentions and behaviours exhibited positive correlations with eco-anxiety, although the latter relationship was less pronounced. Eco-anxiety positively and significantly correlated with climate change news exposure. Subsequently, we conducted four qualitative focus groups as part of the second phase, delving deeper into Maltese individuals' risk perception, efficacy beliefs, environment-related attitudes, and pro-environmental intentions and behaviours. Participants predominantly expressed negative emotions in response to ecological degradation. These negative emotions aligned with participants' perceived lack of environmental efficacy in addressing the crisis through personal and collective actions, despite their desire and intention to act in a pro-environmental manner. Participants discussed perceived costs and barriers to acting pro-environmentally, including inconvenience, cost and time, that frequently outweighed their positive attitudes towards such behaviour. In conclusion, our study highlights the importance of reframing the ecological crisis by promoting facilitators for pro-environmental behaviour, and encouraging active engagement, meaning-focused coping, and biospheric values. Such an approach would transform debilitating eco-anxiety into practical eco-anxiety, eco-hope, and eco-empathy. These findings have implications for both the fields of psychology and environmental conservation, offering insights into Maltese individuals’ experiences with eco-anxiety, and promoting pro-environmental action. 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/134242 Title: Emotional responses to the ecological crisis : insights from Malta Authors: Bonello, Claire; Lauri, Mary Anne Abstract: The ecological crisis is a global phenomenon with profound implications for individual well-being, yet its specific impacts on mental health within the Maltese context remain understudied. This mixedmethods study investigated the emotional, cognitive, and behavioural experiences of 243 Maltese adults in response to the ecological crisis and climate change. Through a quantitative survey, participants reported on their levels of anxiety about seven environmental events and six personal impacts. Additionally, they responded to an openended qualitative question soliciting their immediate associations with climate change. Findings revealed that more than half of the participants often or almost always felt anxious about deforestation, ocean pollution, resource depletion, and their personal waste production. Emerging from content analysis of the open-ended question, participants predominantly associated climate change with environmental phenomena like "global warming" and "extreme weather", while emotional responses, such as "hopelessness" and "anxiety", were less frequently cited. Despite limitations in generalisability, this study underscores the importance of recognising the mental health implications of the ecological crisis and climate change. While participants demonstrated awareness of environmental events and personal impacts, there is a need for a more explicit link between environmental changes and emotional responses to inspire hope and resilience, and spur action in the face of environmental challenges in Malta and beyond. 2024-06-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/134241 Title: Eco-conscious or eco-anxious? An exploration of eco-anxiety within the Maltese context using a mixed-methods research design Authors: Bonello, Claire; Lauri, Mary Anne Abstract: Scientific evidence and public advocacy points towards the legitimacy of climate change and environmental degradation, and the urgency of pro-environmental actions to mitigate this global crisis given its extensive effects being felt on an individual, communal, national and global level. Recent psychological literature has started to explore the mental health impacts of the ecological crisis. Eco anxiety is one such implication that has emerged as a 'hot potato' within both lay and professional jargon, defined as anxiety about different environmental events, about these events' effects and about the general state of our planet. This study sought to explore eco-anxiety as it is experienced by the Maltese population through an explanatory sequential mixed methods research design. The first quantitative phase identified eco-anxiety incidence using the 13-item Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale, alongside demographics, including gender, age and work, via an online questionnaire administered to 243 Maltese adults. The quantitative findings displayed a significant relationship between working in climate change/environment related fields and higher eco-anxiety levels. Subsequently, four qualitative focus groups were conducted within the qualitative phase to delve deeper into the cognitive, behavioural and emotional experiences derived from global and local environmental degradation. Following thematic analysis, the following themes emerged: Ecology, Coping Potential, Action and Engagement, and Perceived Solutions. Participants expressed predominantly negative emotions in response to global and local ecological degradation, with only a minority reporting feelings of hope and curiosity. This tied in with perceived efficacy in contributing through personal and collective actions, alongside the challenges posed by disincentives and barriers that hinder individuals from acting on their pro-environmental intentions. The study suggests that further research is needed to understand the relationship between eco-anxiety and working in climate change and environmental-related fields. It remains unclear whether eco anxiety precedes such careers, the careers trigger eco-anxiety, or if the relationship is cyclical. 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/134240 Title: An exploration of eco-anxiety and environmental engagement in Malta Authors: Bonello, Claire; Lauri, Mary Anne Abstract: The ecological crisis has triggered emotional, cognitive, and behavioral reactions. One such response, eco-anxiety, arises from concerns about environmental degradation, and can drive individuals to take action or otherwise. This study explored eco-anxiety and environmental engagement among a Maltese sample using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, drawing on Appraisal Theory and the Campbell Paradigm of Attitudes. The 13-item Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale assessed eco-anxiety levels in 243 Maltese adults via an online questionnaire, which also investigated pro-environmental intentions, behaviours, and climate change news exposure. Findings revealed positive correlations between eco-anxiety and both pro-environmental intentions and behaviours, though the latter was less pronounced. Eco-anxiety significantly correlated with climate change news exposure. In the second phase, four qualitative focus groups provided deeper insights into Maltese individuals' appraisals of the ecological crisis. Participants’ negative emotions related to ecological degradation stemmed from feeling ineffective in addressing the crisis despite their intentions. They identified barriers, such as inconvenience, cost, and time, which outweighed their positive attitudes towards pro-environmental actions. The study highlights the need to reframe the ecological crisis to promote practical eco-anxiety and environmental engagement, with implications for environmental psychology, conservation and media reporting. 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z