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Eco Anxiety levels compared between LGBTQ+ and Cishet groups of Dutch and German Nationality and the role of Environmental Action

Kalisvaart, M. (2025) Eco Anxiety levels compared between LGBTQ+ and Cishet groups of Dutch and German Nationality and the role of Environmental Action.

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Embargo date:24 February 2027
Abstract:Introduction This thesis addressed the research gap in regards to mental health impact of climate change on LGBTQ+ individuals by comparing LGBTQ+ eco-anxiety levels to that of cishet individuals. This study furthermore addresses the gap regarding whether or not LGBTQ+ individuals are more likely to engage in climate change activism. This study therefore studied LGBTQ+ identity as a moderating effect between eco-anxiety and environmental action and compared environmental action levels between LGBTQ+ and cishet individuals. Earlier studies found nationality differences in eco-anxiety although these studies lacked sufficient LGBTQ+ representation, this study addressed this by comparing the eco-anxiety level between Dutch and German individuals in a more diverse sample. Methods This cross-sectional study used an online survey to measure eco-anxiety and environmental action by using the Eco-Anxiety questionnaire (EAQ) and Environmental Action scale (EAS) respectively. The sample (N=105) included (n=35) LGBTQ+ individuals, with (n=70) individuals identifying as cishet. In regards to the nationality of the sample (n=52) participants were German, while (n=53) were of Dutch nationality. Results The group comparisons were conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test, findings indicated a higher score on eco-anxiety (p=<.001) and environmental action (p=.01) for LGBTQ+ individuals. The comparison between nationalities revealed a higher eco-anxiety score for German individuals (p=<0.001). A moderate positive relationship (p=<.001) was found between eco-anxiety and environmental action, in accordance with earlier research that studied the connection between activism and eco-anxiety. However, the moderation effect of LGBTQ+ identity on the relationship between eco-anxiety and environmental action was not found (p=.07). Discussion-conclusion This study concluded that those identifying as LGBTQ+ showed higher eco-anxiety and environmental action levels in comparison to cishet individuals, although the moderation effect of LGBTQ+ identity was not found. The low power of this study likely contributed to an inability to effectively test for moderation, and the low LGBTQ+ sample size should be taken into account in regards to the findings of this study.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:77 psychology
Programme:Psychology BSc (56604)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/104937
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