Climate Change Psychological Distress Prevalence

The report finds that 7% of American adults experience at least mild levels of Climate Change Psychological Distress (CCPD), with Hispanic/Latino adults and younger generations showing the highest prevalence of anxiety and depression. It also notes that 8% of American adults are interested in or already seeking professional counseling to discuss their feelings about global warming.

• Approximately 3% of American adults exhibit potentially serious levels of both climate change-related anxiety (measured by GAD-2 Climate) and climate change-related depression (measured by PHQ-2 Climate).
• Overall, 7% of American adults experience at least mild levels of Climate Change Psychological Distress (CCPD). Hispanic/Latino adults are the most affected group, with 17% experiencing mild or higher levels of CCPD and the highest rate of severe CCPD at 3%.
• Younger generations report higher rates of climate-related distress than older adults. Gen Z and Millennials report climate anxiety at 5% and depression at 4%, while Baby Boomers and older adults report 1% for both.
• A total of 8% of American adults are either already discussing their feelings about global warming with a counselor or therapist, or would be interested in doing so. This interest is most pronounced among Hispanics/Latinos (21%) and Gen Z/Millennials (13%).

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2023). Climate Change Psychological Distress Prevalence. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/climate-change-psychological-distress-prevalence/

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Climate Change Psychological Distress Prevalence. 2023. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/climate-change-psychological-distress-prevalence/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Climate Change Psychological Distress Prevalence |date=25 July 2023 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/climate-change-psychological-distress-prevalence/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2023climate, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Climate Change Psychological Distress Prevalence}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2023}, month = jul, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/climate-change-psychological-distress-prevalence/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }