Climate change worry and generalized anxiety among high school students in a rural district of Türkiye: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Climate change is increasingly recognized as a threat to adolescent mental health, yet data on climate-related worry among high school students in rural settings are scarce. This study aimed to determine the level of climate change worry among high school students in a rural district of Türkiye and to examine its relationship with sociodemographic factors and generalized anxiety symptoms. This cross-sectional study was conducted between April and June 2026 in all public high schools of Vezirköprü district, Samsun, Türkiye. A total of 782 students in grades 9–12 completed a sociodemographic form, the Climate Change Worry Scale (CCWS), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale. Data were analyzed with chi-square, Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis, and Spearman correlation tests and multiple linear regression. The CCWS total score was 30.31 ± 9.54 (median 30.0, IQR 23.0–37.0) and the GAD-7 total score was 8.78 ± 6.58 (median 8.0, IQR 2.0–14.0); 353 students (45.1%) scored at or above the GAD-7 clinical cut-off of 10. CCWS scores were higher in female than in male students (median 34.0 vs. 26.0, p < 0.001) and in students reporting an extreme weather event in their area in the past year (median 33.0 vs. 30.0, p = 0.005), and increased across categories of reported social media use (median 25.0 for < 1 h, 30.0 for 1–6 h, and 36.0 for > 6 h; p < 0.001). CCWS and GAD-7 scores were moderately correlated (ρ = 0.573, p < 0.001). In multiple linear regression, female sex (β = 0.302), GAD-7 score (β = 0.339), social media use > 6 h (β = 0.275), extreme weather event exposure (β = 0.106) and school type independently predicted climate change worry, explaining 43.7% of the variance (adjusted R²=0.430). Climate change worry is common among rural Turkish high school students and is independently associated with female sex, social media use, local extreme weather exposure, and generalized anxiety. School-based mental health and climate literacy programs should address climate-related distress, particularly in female students and heavy social media users. Not applicable.