Climate change views examined through a behavioral medicine frame: are there potential target mechanisms for change beyond political ideology?

ABSTRACT

The threat of climate change is associated with both profound health consequences and failures by many individuals to take preventive actions. Behavioral science research on health behavior engagement may serve as a lens through which to better understand attitudes associated with the threat of climate change. This study was designed to examine individual differences in attitudinal responses to climate change, understanding the degree to which these responses can be predicted by both political beliefs and more readily modified psychological factors commonly associated with health behavior engagement: locus of control, anxiety sensitivity, delay discounting, and intolerance of uncertainty. Participants (N = 234) were US adults (62% male; 57% Non-Hispanic White; 44% Democrat) who completed an online survey. Stepwise multiple linear regressions examined which variables provided non-redundant prediction in models of climate change beliefs and concerns. In addition to providing support for the role of political affiliation and related ideology in climate change views (9–23% variance), this study underscores the importance of a behavioral health frame in understanding climate change concerns and beliefs. Known risk factors for negative health behaviors – prominently, locus of control, anxiety sensitivity, and delay discounting – contributed strongly to the understanding of these views, accounting for 4–28% of variance. Our findings encourage greater attention to health behavior-related constructs for understanding attitudes relevant to climate change action.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate change
• political ideology
• locus of control
• anxiety sensitivity
• delay discounting
• intolerance of uncertainty

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, RL, upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

The authors would like to acknowledge the following relationships: Dr. Otto receives compensation as a consultant for Big Health and receives book royalties from multiple publishers. No other authors have relevant financial or non-financial interests to report.

Notes

1. This finding is inconsistent with some reviews which have indicated an association of younger age with greater climate change risk perception (e.g. Hornsey et al., 2016; Milfont et al., 2021), and adds to the perspective noted elsewhere that findings on this relationship are inconsistent and may be country-dependent (Arıkan & Günay, 2021). It is worth noting that this finding may be attributable to the relatively narrow age range of our sample; the majority of participants were middle age or younger.

Additional information

Funding

Effort on this manuscript for Ms. Lubin and Drs. Edmondson and Otto was supported, in part, by the NIH Columbia University Science of Behavior Change Resource and Coordinating Center (U24AG052175). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.