Investigation of climate change anxiety and variables in patients with major depressive disorder

Major depressive disorder is a psychiatric disorder that is frequently seen in all segments of the society, can impair functionality in various areas, and has high mortality and morbidity. It is known that one of the many factors affecting the prognosis and treatment approach of the disease is other accompanying mental complaints. In this context, climate change anxiety is a concept that has managed to be the subject of current research both in terms of the holistic evaluation of depressive patients and as a new mental disorder in itself, which should be well defined in order to explain the factors that may be effective in its occurrence. The aim of this study was to examine the level of climate change anxiety of patients with major depressive disorder in Mersin University Faculty of Medicine Hospital and the demographic variables, tolerance to uncertainty and coping attitudes that may be related to this concept, and to contribute to expanding the knowledge on climate change anxiety. Accordingly, 82 patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder and 80 healthy volunteers were included in the study. Data were collected using the Sociodemographic and Clinical Data Form, Beck Depression Scale, Climate Change Worry Scale, Climate Change Hope Scale, Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, and Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Scale. As a result of our study, it was found that eco-anxiety increased as the level of education increased, and age and intolerance of uncertainty were directly proportional to eco-anxiety. It was observed that individuals with more concern about climate change also had more hope that this phenomenon could be prevented. It was found that eco-anxiety was not related to gender; as the level of anxiety changed, it was found that there was variability in the preferred coping attitudes in the foreground. Longitudinal studies with larger samples are needed to better understand the poor prognostic factors of climate change anxiety in depressed patients and the psychological complaints in healthy individuals. Keywords: coping attitudes, intolerance of uncertainty, depression, eco-anxiety, climate change anxiety