Investigation of eco-anxiety and life satisfaction of middle adults living in rural areas

This study aims to examine the relationship between eco-anxiety levels and life satisfaction of middle-aged individuals living in rural areas. Climate change poses serious threats both economically and psychosocially, especially for rural populations engaged in production activities such as agriculture, animal husbandry, beekeeping and greenhouse cultivation, which are directly dependent on nature. Increasing temperatures, irregular rainfall regimes, decreasing water resources and losses in production processes increase the future anxiety of individuals living in rural areas, deepen the feeling of economic insecurity and increase the levels of eco-anxiety. How these processes affect individuals' life satisfaction and which coping mechanisms they develop are considered as an important research question. The research was conducted with a mixed method of research design and quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques were used together. Eco-Anxiety Scale, Climate Change Anxiety Scale, Coping Attitudes Evaluation Scale (COPE-R) and Life Satisfaction Scale were applied. In the qualitative dimension, semi-structured interviews were conducted and individuals' perceptions of climate change, coping mechanisms and migration tendencies were analysed in depth. The population of the research consists of rural producers living in Burdur, Muğla and Yalova provinces. Burdur is one of the regions under risk in terms of sustainability of agriculture and animal husbandry due to increasing drought. Muğla is included in the study as a beekeeping centre experiencing serious losses in honey production due to forest fires and temperature increase. Yalova was included in the sample as it is one of the regions directly affected by climate change in terms of greenhouse activities. The findings show that individuals living in rural areas have high levels of eco-anxiety, but coping mechanisms are effective in managing this anxiety. Community solidarity, adaptation in production processes and social support mechanisms play an important role in coping with eco-anxiety. A negative relationship was found between eco-anxiety and life satisfaction, and it was determined that individuals who experienced economic uncertainty had lower life satisfaction. The research reveals the need to strengthen psychosocial support and rural development policies for climate change in rural areas from a social work perspective.