The role of rumination and planning in climate anxiety, worry, and pro-environmental behaviour among young adults: evidence from two studies

Abstract Background Climate anxiety is a common psychological response to climate change among young people. Although cognitive emotion regulation (CER) strategies are thought to shape how individuals cope with climate-related distress, their associations with climate anxiety and pro-environmental behaviour remain insufficiently understood. Employing a sequential two-study design, the present study examined the role of selected CER strategies and evaluated brief interventions aimed at targeting them. Methods Two studies were conducted among Slovenian young adults. Study 1 used a cross-sectional design ( N = 442; 18–24 years; 75.8% female) to examine associations between rumination, catastrophising, positive refocusing, refocus on planning, climate anxiety, and pro-environmental behaviour. Study 2 was a randomised controlled trial ( N = 89; 18–24 years; 92.1% female) comparing expressive writing, expressive writing plus planning, and a control condition. Climate anxiety, climate worry, pro-environmental behaviour (or pro-environmental behavioural intentions), rumination, and planning were assessed across repeated measurements. Results In Study 1, rumination emerged as the strongest correlate of climate anxiety, while refocus on planning was the strongest correlate of pro-environmental behaviour. In Study 2, neither intervention led to significant changes in rumination and refocus on planning, reduced climate anxiety or climate worry, nor increased pro-environmental behaviour (or pro-environmental behavioural intentions). However, both interventions produced short-term increases in climate worry immediately after the exercises. Exploratory analyses indicated that increases in rumination, across all conditions, were associated with increases in climate anxiety and climate worry over time. Conclusions The findings suggest that CER strategies show nuanced associations with climate-related outcomes. Rumination appears to be a consistent correlate of climate distress, while planning may accompany both climate concern and pro-environmental engagement. Brief self-guided interventions were insufficient to produce meaningful changes in these outcomes.