Association between climate change awareness-related psychological distress and mental health in people with psychiatric diagnoses or subclinical symptoms: a scoping review

BackgroundThe awareness of climate change as a global environmental threat through media consumption and/or social interaction can have a psychological impact on people's mental health.However, little is known about the association between climate change awarenessrelated psychological distress (CCARPD) and mental health in people with psychiatric diagnoses or subclinical symptoms. MethodsA comprehensive and systematic literature search in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, and CENTRAL electronic databases (from inception to February 2025) was conducted, without language restriction, for articles assessing the association of CCARPD with the mental well-being of people in general and psychiatric populations. ResultsTwenty-eight thousand forty-seven reports were retrieved.Of these, 67 met the inclusion criteria (64 general and 3 psychiatric population studies).The overall correlation between CCARPD and mental health measurements (ranging from subclinical symptoms to clinical diagnoses of depression, anxiety, or stress) was positive and of weak to moderate strength.