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Climate Change Worry Scale

The Climate Change Worry Scale (CCWS) is a 10 item measure that is intended to capture respondents' psychological responses, such as fear, anxiety, depression, and trauma, associated with climate change.

Categories

Geographies Tested: United States of America

Populations Included: Female, Male

Age Range: Adults

Items:

  1. I worry about climate change more than other people.

  2. Thoughts about climate change cause me to have worries about what the future may hold.

  3. I tend to seek out information about climate change in the media (e.g., TV, newspapers, internet).

  4. I tend to worry when I hear about climate change, even when the effects of climate change may be some time away.

  5. I worry that outbreaks of severe weather may be the result of a changing climate.

  6. I worry about climate change so much that I feel paralyzed in being able to do anything about it.

  7. I worry that I might not be able to cope with climate change.

  8. I notice that I have been worrying about climate change.

  9. Once I begin to worry about climate change, I find it difficult to stop.

  10. I worry about how climate change may affect the people I care about.

Response Options

Never - 1

Rarely - 2

Sometimes - 3

Often - 4

Always - 5

Scoring Procedures

Items are averaged to create a scale. Higher scores on the Climate Change Worry Scale signify greater psychological response to climate change.

Original Citation

Stewart, A. E. (2021). Psychometric properties of the Climate Change Worry Scale. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020494


Psychometric Score

Ease of Use Score

Scoring breakdown

Formative Research

Qualitative Research

Existing Literature/Theoretical Framework

Field Expert Input

Cognitive Interviews / Pilot Testing

Reliability

Internal

Test-retest

Interrater

Validity

Content

Face

Criterion (gold-standard)

Construct

KEY

Ease of Use

Readability

Scoring Clarity

Length

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