Eco-anxiety and environmentally friendly consumption in young adults: Longitudinal exploration and the role of hope and coping

Abstract

Growing research highlights significant yet complex links between eco-anxiety and pro-environmental behaviour (PEB). It remains unclear to what extent this relationship is shaped by additional factors, and longitudinal investigations are particularly needed to capture the dynamic interplay between the constructs. This study examines how eco-anxiety relates to PEB in young adults over time, focusing on the roles of hope and coping. The study employs a longitudinal two-wave design. A convenience sample of 560 participants was collected for the first wave of the study. After excluding data due to several reasons, the final sample comprised 455 adults aged 18 to 35 years (M = 22.47; SD = 4.40), with 71.5% female. The participants who agreed to be further contacted will be invited to participate in the second wave of the study at the beginning of 2026. Items from the Climate Change Anxiety Scale (Clayton & Karazsia, 2020), the Coping Strategies instrument (Ojala, 2012; Ojala & Bengtsson, 2019), and the Hope Index (Sangervo et al., 2022) are used, together with questions about environmentally friendly consumption. The structural equation modelling framework will be applied to data analysis. Drawing on prior findings and theories such as the transactional model of stress and coping, we expect robust longitudinal links between eco-anxiety and PEB, with hope and coping playing significant explanatory roles. Anxiety is anticipated to predict the behaviour over time, while coping strategies and hope may uniquely mediate/moderate this relationship. Clarifying these mechanisms is crucial for designing interventions that foster adaptive responses to environmental crises.