Belief in science and climate anxiety: findings from a quota-sample

To date, no studies exist investigating whether belief in science is associated with climate anxiety. Thus, our goal was to examine the link between belief in science and climate anxiety (also among different age groups).

Data were taken from a general adult population online sample (n = 3091 persons aged 18 to 74 years; spring 2022). Climate anxiety was measured with the Climate Anxiety Scale. The Belief in Science Scale was used to measure belief in science. Multiple log-linear regressions were used, adjusting for a wide array of covariates.

Multiple log-linear regressions showed that a greater belief in science was significantly associated with higher (log) climate anxiety (β = .003, p < .001) among the total sample, particularly driven by younger adults. More precisely, a greater belief in science was significantly associated with higher (log) climate anxiety (β = .006, p < .001) among individuals aged 18 to 29 years, whereas these factors were not significant in the other age groups (i.e., among individuals aged 30 to 49 years, among individuals aged 50 to 64 years, and among individuals aged 65 to 74 years). There was a significant interaction between individuals aged 65 years to 74 years (reference category: individuals aged 18 to 29 years) and belief in science (β = −0.007, p = .03).

This study identified an association between a greater belief in science and higher climate anxiety, particularly among younger individuals, whereas this link was not present among older age groups. Further studies are required to confirm our current findings.