Is Ecological Anxiety Due to Climate Change Associated With the Fertility Preferences of Women?
Asibe Özkan, Merve Kolcu, Alkin Yilmaz, Gonca Akbaş
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Eco-anxiety caused by climate change, which is a significant public health problem, has negative effects on sexual and reproductive health, and these effects are expected to increase continuously. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between eco-anxiety caused by climate change and the fertility preferences of women. METHODS: This descriptive study was conducted between June and August 2024 with 491 women at the ages of 18 to 49 who were registered at a family health center. A personal information form, the Attitudes toward Fertility and Childbearing Scale, and the Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale were used to collect data. RESULTS: The mean total AFCS score of the participants was 66.1 ± 14.2, while their mean total HEAS score was 27.1 ± 7.0. There was a weak negative correlation between the AFCS scores and HEAS scores of the participants (r = -0.124, p = 0.006). CONCLUSION: As the ecological anxiety levels of women increased, their attitudes toward childbearing became more negative.