Artigo Científico

Resumo: Introduction – Climate change represents an unprecedented threat to humanity. In addition to the pal pable consequences in terms of climate, it can generate psychological effects, such as eco-anxiety. Objective. – The aim of the present study was to validate a French-language scale (EMEA) measuring eco-anxiety, in order to contribute to the latter’s understanding and characterization. To fully reflect the diversity of its manifestations, the construction of the items was based on a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with 18 eco-anxious people. This study also analyzed the relationships between eco-anxiety, intolerance to uncertainty, and perception of climate risk. Method. – A total of 691 individuals participated in the two phases of this research: 262 in Phase 1 (selec tion of scale items) and 429 in Phase 2 (psychometric validation). In addition to the items contained in the EMEA, Phase 2 included a climate anxiety scale, a climate risk perception scale, and a scale measuring intolerance to uncertainty. The research was conducted online after being approved by a research ethics board. Results. – Results reveal a hierarchical model with one main factor and three subfactors (anxiety depressive manifestations, relational disturbances, and obsession with ecology). There were positive correlations between eco-anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, and climate risk perception, and negative correlations between obsession with ecology (third EMEA subdimension) and intolerance of uncertainty. Conclusion. – The EMEA’s psychometric qualities will allow it to be used for further research, but also as an assessment and care decision aid for health professionals to help patients with severe or paralyzing eco-anxiety. It will also be useful for studying the efficiency of psychotherapeutic interventions.