Climate Change Worry in German University Students: Determinants and Associations with Health-Related Outcomes

Climate change is known to have an impact on human health, including mental health. To better understand this phenomenon, the Climate Change Worry Scale (CCWS), a 10-item questionnaire, was developed to assess climate change worry as a psychological response to climate change. The aim of this study was to validate a German version of the CCWS among university students and to explore potential associations with health outcomes. The CCWS was translated into German and used in an online survey of 1105 university students. We tested the scale’s psychometric properties and assessed its associations with sociodemographic characteristics and health outcomes. These included the Somatic Symptom Scale-8, Jenkins Sleep Scale, WHO-5 Well-being Index, and Patient Health Questionnaire 8. All CCWS items loaded on one factor and the items showed high internal consistency. Positive associations were observed between climate change worry and self-reported somatic symptoms, sleep difficulties, mental well-being, and depressive symptoms in multivariate regression models. The German version of the CCWS is a valid tool to measure climate change worry and can be used in future studies. The association between the CCWS and mental health underscores the need to recognize that students perceive climate change as a serious threat.