Eco-anxiety and Coping in Children: Results From a Pilot Randomized Cluster Trial Evaluating the Impact of a Creative Arts and Philosophical Inquiry Intervention for Elementary School Students
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- Enrollment
- 87
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Coping with climate change
Study Overview
Brief Summary
The present study aimed to evaluate the impacts of a school-based program that combined creative arts and philosophy inquiry to discuss climate change emotions with children. The objective was to determine if there were changes that could be seen in the group that participated in the weekly workshops (total of 7 workshops) compared to the group who did not participate (control group). A questionnaire was administered to all children before the intervention began and after it finished to compare scores on the variables of coping with climate change, eco-anxiety, intolerance to distress, general anxiety, and self-determination.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Prevention
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 8 Years to 13 Years (Child)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •Elementary school student in recruited classrooms
Exclusion Criteria
- Not provided
Arms & Interventions
Creative arts an philosophy inquiry intervention
The intervention group received the one workshop per week for 7 weeks. Each workshop combined artistic creation and group philosophical inquiry on a certain theme related to climate change (e.g., responsibility, hope, the beauty of nature)
Intervention: Making room for climate emotions in the classroom (Behavioral)
Wait-list control group
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Coping with climate change
Time Frame: Baseline and 8 weeks
The Coping with Climate Change Scale for Adolescents developed by Ojala (2012) uses a Likert-type scale (0 = not true at all for me; 4 = completely true for me) to measure three coping dimensions (problem coping, avoidance coping, and meaning coping). Lower scores represent less usage of this coping strategy, while higher scores indicate high usage of this coping strategy.
Eco-anxiety
Time Frame: Baseline and 8 weeks
The Hogg Eco-anxiety Scale (2021) was adapted to children by making the language more accessible. The scale is rated on a 4-point Likert type scale (0 = Never, 3 = Almost every day), and higher scores indicate higher eco-anxiety (worst outcomes).
Secondary Outcomes
- Intolerance to distress(Baseline and 8 weeks)
- General anxiety(Baseline and 8 weeks)
- Self-determination(Baseline and 8 weeks)
Investigators
Terra Léger-Goodes
Principal investigator
Université du Québec a Montréal