Gender Differences in Climate Change Anxiety

Abstract

Background: Globally, the impacts of climate change disproportionately impacts women and gender minorities. However, few studies have examined gender differences in people’s anxiety related to climate change.

Methods: This study aimed to test for gender differences in climate change anxiety (CCA) among women, men, and non-binary people living in British Columbia, Canada. Between May and December 2021, participants were recruited using online advertisements.

Results: Among 1,260 participants, 21.9% (n=138/631) of men, 49.5% (n=257/519) of women, and 54.9% (n=28/51) of non-binary participants had medium/high CCA scores. Men were notably less likely to report difficulty concentrating (p < 0.001), crying (p < 0.001), or responding to climate change by writing down and analyzing their thoughts (p < 0.001). Demographically-adjusted multivariable models showed higher CCA among women (aOR = 2.17 [1.65-2.85]) and non-binary participants (aOR = 2.70, [1.43-5.13), relative to men. When also controlling for the effect of generalized psychological distress, the elevated effect among women remained significant (aOR = 1.52, [1.14-2.04]), while the effect among of non-binary participants became non-significant (aOR = 1.67, [0.86-3.26]).

Conclusions: Despite differences in generalized psychological distress and gender-related measurement challenges, women and non-binary people likely experience a disproportionate burden of climate-related anxiety.

Note:

Funding Information: This work was made possible by RSH’s CIHR Foundation Gran

Declaration of Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Approval Statement: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Each study conducted as part of the BC-CDMS was reviewed and approved by the research ethics board at Simon Fraser University (Protocol #30000309).

Keywords: Gender differences, climate change, anxiety, climate change anxiety