Abstract

This study examined the psychological mechanisms underlying climate anxiety among Korean adolescents and adults by investigating the roles of psychological distance, depression, anxiety, and emotional schemas. A nationwide online survey was conducted with 700 participants, including 350 adolescents (ages 13-18) and 350 adults (ages 19-77). Participants completed measures of climate anxiety, psychological distance, depression, anxiety, and emotional schemas. Analyses showed that adults reported higher levels of climate anxiety than adolescents, and men reported higher levels than women. Correlational analyses indicated that climate anxiety was positively associated with psychological proximity to climate change, depression, anxiety, and maladaptive emotional schemas. Mediation analyses demonstrated both a direct effect of psychological distance on climate anxiety and indirect effects through depression and anxiety, indicating that perceiving climate change as psychologically closer was linked to greater negative affect, which in turn heightened climate anxiety. Moderated mediation analyses further revealed that emotional schemas amplified the indirect effect of psychological distance on climate anxiety through both depression and anxiety; specifically, individuals with more maladaptive emotional schemas showed a stronger pathway from psychological proximity to increased depression and anxiety, which subsequently elevated climate anxiety. These findings suggest that climate anxiety reflects a complex interplay among threat perception, negative emotional states, and emotional belief systems. Rather than focusing solely on reducing climate anxiety, interventions should promote adaptive regulation by addressing depression, anxiety, and maladaptive emotional schemas to prevent excessive climate anxiety from escalating into functional impairment.