Multigroup Analysis of the Relationships between Climate Change-Related Emotions and Practice Competency, as well as Such Responses·Prospects by Gender in Korean Children

Objectives The impacts of climate change are gender biased. Children have limited capabilities to prevent or cope with the daily stresses and immune responses caused by climate change compared to other age groups. Methods The purpose of this study is to clarify the influence pathways between climate change emotions, practice competency, and climate change responses and the prospects of 729 Korean children by gender through a multigroup analysis. Results The results confirm that practice competency partially mediates the process through which emotions about climate change influence climate change responses·prospects. The multigroup analysis by gender shows that female students are more influential than male students in the pathway of “practice competency” → “climate change responses·prospects.” Conclusions The main findings suggest that different support measures are needed depending on the gender of a child. In addition, by proposing strategies to support extracurricular activities that actively address climate change, we have contributed to promoting climate action aimed at achieving sustainable development goals.