Psychometric Properties of the Climate Change Anxiety Scale in a Sample from Mexico

In recent years, the effects of climate change on mental health have been acknowledged. Among the most prominent consequences is anxiety associated with climate change. Behavioral and cognitive impairments have been mapped within the Climate Change Anxiety Scale (CCAS). The international community has widely used this psychological instrument to explore prevalence across different populations worldwide. The factor structure has been shown to vary by culture. Although the scale has been translated into Spanish, its factor structure has not yet been assessed in Mexico. The current pre-registered study investigated the psychometric properties of the CCAS in a northwestern Mexican community sample using confirmatory factor análisis (CFA). It also assessed convergent and divergent validity using average variance explained (AVE) and its square root (SAVE) compared with self-report climate change coping strategies. Internal consistency was further assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega, and the average interitem correlation. Finally, using data from the present study and a previously published sample, consistency across samples was evaluated using the Tucker congruence index. Both one- and two-factor models showed acceptable goodness of fit after excluding three items (2, 7, and 12). This 10-item version additionally exhibited acceptable reliability coefficients. Finally, the northern Mexican sample showed congruence with a separate student sample from central Mexico. The present study provides initial evidence of the validity of a 10-item version of the CCAS in a northwestern Mexican sample.