Is There a Social Cure for Climate Change Distress and Impairment? Initial Evidence That Group‐Based Control Might Shield General Well‐Being

ABSTRACT Climate change undermines well‐being through helplessness and loss of control. The social identity approach to health (“social cure”) and group‐based control theory suggest that identification with ingroups may maintain resilience to climate threats by sustaining a sense of control. Drawing on these accounts, the present study examines whether national identification moderates the negative associations of climate change distress and climate change impairment with well‐being. Pooling data from a German adult population sample ( N = 1136) across three waves, we find that the negative associations of climate change distress and climate change impairment with well‐being are weaker among individuals with stronger national identification, even after controlling for sociodemographic and political‐ideological characteristics. Importantly, moderated mediation analyses indicate that these patterns are statistically associated with a preserved sense of personal control, consistent with social cure and group‐based control perspectives. Extending prior findings on group‐based control in health contexts, our results highlight the potential relevance of social identification and collective control for mitigating the negative psychological impacts of climate change on well‐being.