4 SPRING 2024 NO.84 / THOUGHT LEADERSHIP BRIEF Kim-Pong Tam studies how people construe their relationship with nature and the emotional and behavioral implications of such construal. Some examples of his output in this direction include his works on anthropomorphism of nature, connectedness to nature, empathy with nature, and, most recently, gratitude to nature. He also studies the cross-national variability of phenomena regarding environmental attitude and pro-environmental behavior. In his recent projects, he has expanded his interests to include human responses to the problem of climate change, such as climate change anxiety, support for climate policies, and conspiracy theories about climate change. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Division of Social Science at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and an Affiliate Researcher at the Center for Experimental Research in Social Sciences at Hokkaido University. Hoi-Wing Chan is an assistant professor at the Department of Applied Social Sciences and a member of the Mental Health Research Centre at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He obtained his PhD from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research focuses on understanding how people respond to contemporary social issues (e.g., climate change, mental health, disease outbreaks, and misinformation). His research integrates insights from socio-ecological, cross-cultural, and social psychological perspectives into understanding pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors, climate change beliefs and their psychological impacts, conspiracy theories, and intergroup processes. Reference: Chan, H. W., Lin, L., Tam, K-P., & Hong, Y-y. (2024). From negative feelings to impairments: A longitudinal study on the course of development of climate change anxiety. Manuscript under review. Chan, H. W., Tam, K-P., & Clayton, S. (2023). Testing an integrated model of climate change anxiety. Manuscript under review. Tam, K-P., Chan, H. W., & Clayton, S. (2023). Climate change anxiety in China, India, Japan, and the United States. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 87, 101991. Read all HKUST IEMS Thought Leadership Briefs at http://iems.ust.hk/tlb RECOMMENDATIONS The research findings presented have the potential to significantly impact policy in China. Climate change anxiety is an emerging phenomenon among the Chinese public. While not yet a majority response, a significant proportion of individuals (approximately one fifth to one third of respondents in our samples) report experiencing climate change anxiety. This anxiety is associated with impairments in daily functioning and may lead to the development of broader mental health symptoms, such as depression and generalized anxiety. Considering the potential impact of climate change anxiety on mental health, we believe that this phenomenon should be given greater attention and recognition by scientists, mental health professionals, and policymakers in China. Specifically, we recommend the development of strategies to identify sectors of the population that are most susceptible to climate change anxiety (e.g., the elderly), and the implementation of effective and scalable interventions aimed at buffering the mental health effects of this experience (e.g., cognitive interventions). Last but not least, it is important to note that experiencing climate change anxiety, as we and other research teams have found, also has the potential to motivate engagement in climate action and support for climate policies. It is imperative for future endeavours to distinguish these multi-faceted impacts of climate change anxiety and consider how to prevent people from developing more serious mental health issues out of it and channel this experience to a more adaptive expression. T: (852) 3469 2215 E: iems@ust.hk W: http://iems.ust.hk A: Lo Ka Chung Building, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon With Support from
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