Logo image
Back
The Mediating Role of Fertility Anxiety in the Relationship Between Fertility Health Knowledge and Climate Change Anxiety
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

The Mediating Role of Fertility Anxiety in the Relationship Between Fertility Health Knowledge and Climate Change Anxiety

Ozden Tandogan, Eda Yakit Ak, Mehmet Ali Sen and Ezgi Yarasir Gillette
Perspectives in psychiatric care, Vol.2026(1), 8902460
04/21/2026
DOI: 10.1155/ppc/8902460
Appears in  UI Libraries Support Open Access
url
https://doi.org/10.1155/ppc/8902460View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the mediating role of fertility health anxiety (M) in the association between fertility health knowledge (X) and climate change anxiety (Y) among women of reproductive age. The study involved 675 women of reproductive age. Data were collected using the Descriptive Information Form, the Fertility Health Knowledge Scale (FHKS), the Fertility Health Anxiety Scale, and the Climate Change Anxiety Scale (CCAS). The mediating role of fertility health anxiety was tested using the PROCESS macro Model 4, with age and marital status included as covariates. The mean age of the women was 27.39 +/- 9.81; 69.5% were single, and 75.3% had no children. Of the participants, 57.2% stated that climate change had an impact on fertility, and 51.4% stated that climate change would be associated with their decision to have children in the future. The analysis revealed a modest positive correlation between FHKS and CCAS scores (r = 0.162, p < 0.01). In the covariate-adjusted mediation model, the total effect of fertility health knowledge on climate change anxiety was significant (b = 0.101, SE = 0.024, beta = 0.162, p < 0.001). The direct effect remained significant (b = 0.110, SE = 0.023, beta = 0.176, p < 0.001). The indirect effect through fertility health anxiety, tested using the bootstrap method with 5000 resamples, was statistically significant but small in magnitude (b = -0.009, BootSE = 0.005, beta = 0.014, 95% CI: [-0.019, -0.001]), accounting for approximately 8% of the total effect, and should be interpreted with caution given its modest substantive size. Among the covariates, age was significantly and positively associated with climate change anxiety (beta = 0.157, p < 0.01), while marital status was not significant. The findings indicate that fertility health knowledge is positively associated with climate change anxiety; however, this association is partially offset through the anxiety-reducing association of fertility health knowledge with fertility health anxiety, highlighting the potential relevance of environmental concerns for reproductive well-being. These findings should be interpreted as preliminary: effect sizes were modest, explained variance was low (R-2 = 0.021-0.071), and the cross-sectional design precludes causal inference. Accordingly, the substantive significance of the indirect effect should not be overstated.
 Climate Change fertility anxiety fertility health woman UIOWA OA Agreement

Details

Metrics

1 Record Views
Logo image