Looking Back and Moving Forward: A Spatial-Based Pilot Study of Psychological Security and Social Cohesion Among Maldivian Academics amid Climate Change

Climate change poses one of the greatest contemporary societal threats and is intrinsically linked to the existence of the Maldives. The Munich Security Conference 2024 emphasized the importance of launching an open dialogue to elucidate the intricate relationships between climate change and the pressing threats to global security. With increasing climate risk perception, a devastating impact on people’s psyche and mental health, such as lack of motivation, uncertainty and fear, low mood, and depression can be intensified. Therefore, reporting preliminary findings from the current pilot sample is of prime importance in recommending trajectories for a sustainable, climate-resilient community. The current study aims at investigating the nexus between climate change perception, psychological security, and social cohesion among the academic staff in the Maldives. A descriptive, correlational approach was adopted. A sample of 112 academic staff from Maldives National University were recruited to complete the climate change perceptions (CCPs), the Urban Residents Psychological Security (URPS), and rated Neighborhood Cohesion Instrument (NCI). A strong statistically negative significant correlation was found between CCPs and URPS (r = −0.733, p < 0.001) and a moderately negative correlation between CCPs and NCI (r = −0.459, p < 0.001). The unstandardized coefficient (B) was −3.144 for academic experience, indicating that for each year increase in work, the URPS score decreases by 3.144. Participants had a high climate change perception score, and moderate psychological security and social cohesion scores. These preliminary findings call for the Maldives College of Higher Education to enact environmental and disaster education initiatives to create a sustainable, climate-resilient health system.