Climate change anxiety, hope, and pro-environmental behavioral intention during pregnancy: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Climate change is increasingly recognized as a psychosocial stressor with potential implications for women's mental health, particularly during pregnancy-a period characterized by heightened emotional sensitivity and future-oriented concern. Understanding how climate-related emotions relate to behavioral processes in this population remains limited. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between climate change anxiety, hope for climate change mitigation, and pro-environmental behavioral intention among pregnant women. METHODS: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with 287 pregnant women attending routine antenatal follow-up visits at a secondary care obstetrics outpatient clinic in Türkiye between May and August 2025. Data were collected using the Climate Change Anxiety Scale, the Climate Change Hope Scale, and a Behavioral Intention Index. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analyses were performed. The STROBE checklist was used to report this study. RESULTS: Pregnant women reported moderate levels of climate change anxiety, moderate-to-high levels of hope, and moderate levels of pro-environmental behavioral intention. There was a moderate positive correlation between hope and behavioral intention and a weaker positive correlation between climate change anxiety and behavioral intention. Regression analysis indicated that hope showed the strongest association with behavioral intention (β = 0.392, p < .001), followed by climate change anxiety (β = 0.210, p < .001). Together, these variables explained 20% of the variance in behavioral intention. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate that climate change-related anxiety and hope jointly contribute to pro-environmental behavioral intention during pregnancy. Considering both threat-related and efficacy-related emotional processes may strengthen women's mental health-informed approaches to climate engagement.