Current Topic in Developing World: Are Early Adolescents Aware of Climate Change?

Didem Han Yekdeş; Ali Cem Yekdeş; Safiye Takır Stewart; Miraç Çağlayan; Hatice Uysal; Ülfiye Çelikkalp; Galip Ekuklu

doi:10.20515/otd.1585542

Clinical Research

Current Topic in Developing World: Are Early Adolescents Aware of Climate Change?

Year 2025, Volume: 47 Issue: 3, 373 - 385, 02.05.2025

Didem Han Yekdeş , Ali Cem Yekdeş , Safiye Takır Stewart , Miraç Çağlayan , Hatice Uysal , Ülfiye Çelikkalp , Galip Ekuklu

https://doi.org/10.20515/otd.1585542

Abstract

Climate change is recognized by the World Economic Forum as one of the top ten global crises. Existing scales measure awareness in adults, but there is no scale specifically developed for early adolescents. To address this gap, the "Early Adolescent Climate Change Awareness Scale" (EACCAS) was developed. The study targeted individuals aged 10–14 in Edirne, Türkiye (N = 7133, 25 schools). A multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method was used to select (n=897, 6 schools). A 43-item pool was generated based on literature and educational materials, and content validity was evaluated by nine experts. Feedback from a pilot study involving 21 students was used to refine the items. Data collection proceeded after obtaining ethical approvals. Structural validity was assessed through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) on two equal subsamples, while convergent and discriminant validity were tested. Reliability was measured using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Analyses were conducted using SPSS 22 and R Studio’s “lavaan” and “semTools” packages. The final scale consisted of 15 items across three subdimensions—causes, consequences, and measures—explaining 65.53% of the total variance. The Cronbach's alpha value was 0.92, and model fit indices indicated a good fit (CMIN/DF = 2.176, RMSEA = 0.051, CFI = 0.968, TLI= 0.961, SRMR= 0.041). The scale, scored on a 5-point Likert system (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree), provides a range of 15–75 points. Higher scores indicate greater awareness. This scale is recommended for application in diverse populations following cultural adaptations.

Keywords

Climate change, awareness, early adolescence, scale development, reliability and validity.

References

1. Paillard D. Glacial cycles: toward a new paradigm. Reviews of Geophysics. 2001;39(3):325-46.
2. Hertzberg M, Siddons A, Schreuder H. Role of greenhouse gases in climate change. Energy & Environment. 2017;28(4):530-9.
3. NASA. What Is Climate Change? [Available from: https://climate.nasa.gov/what-is-climate-change/#what_is_climate_change.
4. IPCC. Climate Change 2021, The Physical Science Basis Summary for Policymakers 2021 [Available from: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM_final.pdf.
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6. WorldEconomicForum. Global Risk Reports 2023 2023 [Available from: https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2023/.
7. WHO. Climate Change 2023 [Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health.
8. Piketty T, Chancel L. Carbon and inequality: from Kyoto to Paris. Trends in the Global Inequality of Carbon Emissions (1998-2013) and Prospects for An Equitable Adaptation Fund Paris: Paris School of Economics. 2015.
9. Sultana F. Critical climate justice. The Geographical Journal. 2022;188(1):118-24.
10. Thiery W, Lange S, Rogelj J, Schleussner C-F, Gudmundsson L, Seneviratne SI, et al. Intergenerational inequities in exposure to climate extremes. Science. 2021;374(6564):158-60.
11. Pınar E, Yakışan M. Analyze of the Drawings on Environmental Concepts of the Primary School Students Trakya University Journal of Education Faculty 2018;8(1):97-113.
12. Santos-Reyes J. Awareness and risk perception of a multi-hazard megacity: The case of adolescent students. Safety Science. 2024;171:106382.
13. Pickard S. Young environmental activists are doing it themselves. Political Insight. 2019;10(4):4-7.
14. WorldHealthOrganization. Adolescent Health 2023 [Available from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/adolescent-health#tab=tab_1.
15. Leffers JM. Climate change and health of children: our borrowed future. Journal of Pediatric Health Care. 2022;36(1):12-9.
16. Harker-Schuch I, Lade S, Mills F, Colvin R. Opinions of 12 to 13-year-olds in Austria and Australia on the concern, cause and imminence of climate change. Ambio. 2021;50:644-60.
17. healthychildren.org. Stages of Adolescence 2023 [Available from: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/teen/Pages/Stages-of-Adolescence.aspx.
18. Gönen Ç, Deveci EÜ, Aydede MN. Development and validation of climate change awareness scale for high school students. Environment, Development and Sustainability. 2023;25(5):4525-37.
19. Deniz M, Yusuf İ, Sezer A. Awareness Scale of University Students About Global Climate Change. lnternational Journal of Geography and Geography Education. 2021(43):252-64.
20. DeVellis RF, Thorpe CT. Scale development: Theory and applications: Sage publications; 2021.
21. Carpenter S. Ten steps in scale development and reporting: A guide for researchers. Communication methods and measures. 2018;12(1):25-44.
22. Malhotra NK. Questionnaire design and scale devolepment. The handbook of marketing research: Uses, misuses, and future advances. 2006;83.
23. Education MoN. Science textbooks. [Available from: https://www.eba.gov.tr/arama?q=ders%20kitaplar%C4%B1%20fen%20bilimleri.
24. Karakoç AGDFY, Dönmez L. Ölçek geliştirme çalışmalarında temel ilkeler. Tıp Eğitimi Dünyası. 2014;13(40):39-49.
25. Osborne JW. Best practices in exploratory factor analysis: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 2014.
26. Campbell DT, Fiske DW. Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Psychological bulletin. 1959;56(2):81.
27. Rosseel Y. lavaan: An R package for structural equation modeling. Journal of statistical software. 2012;48:1-36.
28. RStudioTeam. RStudio: Integrated Development Environment for R. Boston, MA: RStudio, PBC (2024) 2024 [Available from: https://posit.co/download/rstudio-desktop/
29. Field A. Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics: Sage publications limited; 2024.
30. Kaiser HF. An index of factorial simplicity. psychometrika. 1974;39(1):31-6.
31. Hair JF, Risher JJ, Sarstedt M, Ringle CM. When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European business review. 2019;31(1):2-24.
32. Henseler J, Ringle CM, Sarstedt M. A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the academy of marketing science. 2015;43:115-35.
33. Hickman C, Marks E, Pihkala P, Clayton S, Lewandowski RE, Mayall EE, et al. Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: a global survey. The Lancet Planetary Health. 2021;5(12):e863-e73.
34. Punter P, Ochando‐Pardo M, Garcia J. Spanish secondary school students' notions on the causes and consequences of climate change. International Journal of Science Education. 2011;33(3):447-64.
35. Kilinc A, Stanisstreet M, Boyes E. Turkish Students' Ideas about Global Warming. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education. 2008;3(2):89-98.
36. Bofferding L, Kloser M. Middle and high school students’ conceptions of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Environmental Education Research. 2015;21(2):275-94.
37. Treble M, Cosma A, Martin G. Child and Adolescent Psychological Reactions to Climate Change: A Narrative Review Through an Existential Lens. Current Psychiatry Reports. 2023:1-7.
38. Leonhardt M, Granrud MD, Bonsaksen T, Lien L. Associations between mental health, lifestyle factors and worries about climate change in Norwegian adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022;19(19):12826.
39. Trott CD. Children’s constructive climate change engagement: Empowering awareness, agency, and action. Environmental Education Research. 2020;26(4):532-54.
40. Leung LE. The Greta Effect: How does Greta Thunberg use the discourse of youth in her movement for climate justice. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation]] University of Calgary https://bit ly/38HcgPe. 2020.
41. Taylor M, Watts J, Bartlett J. Climate crisis: 6 million people join latest wave of global protests. The Guardian. 2019;27(9.2019).
42. Lee K, Gjersoe N, O'neill S, Barnett J. Youth perceptions of climate change: A narrative synthesis. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change. 2020;11(3):e641.
43. Kurisu KH, Bortoleto AP. Comparison of waste prevention behaviors among three Japanese megacity regions in the context of local measures and socio-demographics. Waste Management. 2011;31(7):1441-9.
44. Krettenauer T. Pro‐environmental behavior and adolescent moral development. Journal of Research on Adolescence. 2017;27(3):581-93.
45. Qin Z, Wu Q, Bi C, Deng Y, Hu Q. The relationship between climate change anxiety and pro-environmental behavior in adolescents: the mediating role of future self-continuity and the moderating role of green self-efficacy. BMC psychology. 2024;12(1):241.
46. Şahin MG, Boztunç Öztürk N. Eğitim alanında ölçek geliştirme süreci: Bir içerik analizi çalışması [Scale development process in educational field: A content analysis research]. Kastamonu Education Journal. 2018;26(1):191-9.

Gelişen Dünyada Güncel Sorun: Erken Ergenler İklim Değişikliğinin Farkında Mı?

Year 2025, Volume: 47 Issue: 3, 373 - 385, 02.05.2025

Didem Han Yekdeş , Ali Cem Yekdeş , Safiye Takır Stewart , Miraç Çağlayan , Hatice Uysal , Ülfiye Çelikkalp , Galip Ekuklu

https://doi.org/10.20515/otd.1585542

Abstract

İklim değişikliği, Dünya Ekonomik Forumu tarafından küresel ölçekte en önemli on krizden biri olarak belirtilir. Mevcut ölçekler, yetişkinlerdeki farkındalığı ölçerken, erken adölesanlar için geliştirilmiş bir ölçek bulunmamaktadır. Bu eksikliği gidermek amacıyla, "Erken Adölesan İklim Değişikliği Farkındalık Ölçeği" (EAİDFÖ) geliştirilmiştir. Araştırma, Türkiye'nin Edirne ilinde 10-14 yaş arasındaki bireyleri hedeflemiş (N = 7133, 25 okul) ve çok aşamalı tabakalı küme örnekleme yöntemi ile 6 okuldan 897 katılımcı seçilmiştir. Literatür ve eğitim materyalleri doğrultusunda 43 maddelik bir havuz oluşturulmuş ve içerik geçerliliği 9 uzmanın görüşleriyle değerlendirilmiştir. 21 öğrenciyle yapılan pilot çalışma, maddelerin düzenlenmesine yönelik geri bildirim sağlamıştır. Veri toplama süreci, gerekli etik onaylar alındıktan sonra gerçekleştirilmiştir. Yapısal geçerlilik, Açımlayıcı Faktör Analizi (AFA) ve Doğrulayıcı Faktör Analizi (DFA) ile iki eşit ayı grup üzerinde değerlendirilmiş, ayrıca benzeşme ve ayrışma geçerliliği test edilmiştir. Güvenilirlik, Cronbach alfa katsayısı ile ölçülmüştür. Analizler, SPSS 22 ve R Studio’nun “lavaan” ve “semTools” paketleriyle yapılmıştır. Nihai ölçek, üç alt boyuttan (nedenler, sonuçlar, önlemler) oluşan 15 maddeden oluşmuş olup, toplam varyansın %65,53'ünü açıklamaktadır. Cronbach alfa değeri 0,92 olarak hesaplanmış ve model uyum indeksleri iyi düzeyde bulunmuştur (CMIN/DF = 2.176, RMSEA = 0.051, CFI = 0.968, TLI= 0.961, SRMR= 0.041). Beşli Likert ölçeği (1 = kesinlikle katılmıyorum, 5 = kesinlikle katılıyorum) ile puanlanan bu ölçek, 15 ile 75 arasında puan aralığı sağlar. Daha yüksek puanlar, daha yüksek farkındalık anlamına gelmektedir. Ölçeğin kültürel uyarlamalar sonrasında kullanılması önerilmektedir.

Keywords

İklim değişikliği, farkındalık, erken ergenlik, ölçek geliştirme, güvenilirlik ve geçerlilik.

Ethical Statement

The study was approved by Trakya University Noninterventional Clinical Research Ethical Committee (Decision no: 396, Date: 23/10/2023).

Supporting Institution

None.

Thanks

None.

References

1. Paillard D. Glacial cycles: toward a new paradigm. Reviews of Geophysics. 2001;39(3):325-46.
2. Hertzberg M, Siddons A, Schreuder H. Role of greenhouse gases in climate change. Energy & Environment. 2017;28(4):530-9.
3. NASA. What Is Climate Change? [Available from: https://climate.nasa.gov/what-is-climate-change/#what_is_climate_change.
4. IPCC. Climate Change 2021, The Physical Science Basis Summary for Policymakers 2021 [Available from: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM_final.pdf.
5. Change IPoC. Climate change assessment report 6. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [Available from: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/.
6. WorldEconomicForum. Global Risk Reports 2023 2023 [Available from: https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2023/.
7. WHO. Climate Change 2023 [Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health.
8. Piketty T, Chancel L. Carbon and inequality: from Kyoto to Paris. Trends in the Global Inequality of Carbon Emissions (1998-2013) and Prospects for An Equitable Adaptation Fund Paris: Paris School of Economics. 2015.
9. Sultana F. Critical climate justice. The Geographical Journal. 2022;188(1):118-24.
10. Thiery W, Lange S, Rogelj J, Schleussner C-F, Gudmundsson L, Seneviratne SI, et al. Intergenerational inequities in exposure to climate extremes. Science. 2021;374(6564):158-60.
11. Pınar E, Yakışan M. Analyze of the Drawings on Environmental Concepts of the Primary School Students Trakya University Journal of Education Faculty 2018;8(1):97-113.
12. Santos-Reyes J. Awareness and risk perception of a multi-hazard megacity: The case of adolescent students. Safety Science. 2024;171:106382.
13. Pickard S. Young environmental activists are doing it themselves. Political Insight. 2019;10(4):4-7.
14. WorldHealthOrganization. Adolescent Health 2023 [Available from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/adolescent-health#tab=tab_1.
15. Leffers JM. Climate change and health of children: our borrowed future. Journal of Pediatric Health Care. 2022;36(1):12-9.
16. Harker-Schuch I, Lade S, Mills F, Colvin R. Opinions of 12 to 13-year-olds in Austria and Australia on the concern, cause and imminence of climate change. Ambio. 2021;50:644-60.
17. healthychildren.org. Stages of Adolescence 2023 [Available from: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/teen/Pages/Stages-of-Adolescence.aspx.
18. Gönen Ç, Deveci EÜ, Aydede MN. Development and validation of climate change awareness scale for high school students. Environment, Development and Sustainability. 2023;25(5):4525-37.
19. Deniz M, Yusuf İ, Sezer A. Awareness Scale of University Students About Global Climate Change. lnternational Journal of Geography and Geography Education. 2021(43):252-64.
20. DeVellis RF, Thorpe CT. Scale development: Theory and applications: Sage publications; 2021.
21. Carpenter S. Ten steps in scale development and reporting: A guide for researchers. Communication methods and measures. 2018;12(1):25-44.
22. Malhotra NK. Questionnaire design and scale devolepment. The handbook of marketing research: Uses, misuses, and future advances. 2006;83.
23. Education MoN. Science textbooks. [Available from: https://www.eba.gov.tr/arama?q=ders%20kitaplar%C4%B1%20fen%20bilimleri.
24. Karakoç AGDFY, Dönmez L. Ölçek geliştirme çalışmalarında temel ilkeler. Tıp Eğitimi Dünyası. 2014;13(40):39-49.
25. Osborne JW. Best practices in exploratory factor analysis: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 2014.
26. Campbell DT, Fiske DW. Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Psychological bulletin. 1959;56(2):81.
27. Rosseel Y. lavaan: An R package for structural equation modeling. Journal of statistical software. 2012;48:1-36.
28. RStudioTeam. RStudio: Integrated Development Environment for R. Boston, MA: RStudio, PBC (2024) 2024 [Available from: https://posit.co/download/rstudio-desktop/
29. Field A. Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics: Sage publications limited; 2024.
30. Kaiser HF. An index of factorial simplicity. psychometrika. 1974;39(1):31-6.
31. Hair JF, Risher JJ, Sarstedt M, Ringle CM. When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European business review. 2019;31(1):2-24.
32. Henseler J, Ringle CM, Sarstedt M. A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the academy of marketing science. 2015;43:115-35.
33. Hickman C, Marks E, Pihkala P, Clayton S, Lewandowski RE, Mayall EE, et al. Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: a global survey. The Lancet Planetary Health. 2021;5(12):e863-e73.
34. Punter P, Ochando‐Pardo M, Garcia J. Spanish secondary school students' notions on the causes and consequences of climate change. International Journal of Science Education. 2011;33(3):447-64.
35. Kilinc A, Stanisstreet M, Boyes E. Turkish Students' Ideas about Global Warming. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education. 2008;3(2):89-98.
36. Bofferding L, Kloser M. Middle and high school students’ conceptions of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Environmental Education Research. 2015;21(2):275-94.
37. Treble M, Cosma A, Martin G. Child and Adolescent Psychological Reactions to Climate Change: A Narrative Review Through an Existential Lens. Current Psychiatry Reports. 2023:1-7.
38. Leonhardt M, Granrud MD, Bonsaksen T, Lien L. Associations between mental health, lifestyle factors and worries about climate change in Norwegian adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022;19(19):12826.
39. Trott CD. Children’s constructive climate change engagement: Empowering awareness, agency, and action. Environmental Education Research. 2020;26(4):532-54.
40. Leung LE. The Greta Effect: How does Greta Thunberg use the discourse of youth in her movement for climate justice. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation]] University of Calgary https://bit ly/38HcgPe. 2020.
41. Taylor M, Watts J, Bartlett J. Climate crisis: 6 million people join latest wave of global protests. The Guardian. 2019;27(9.2019).
42. Lee K, Gjersoe N, O'neill S, Barnett J. Youth perceptions of climate change: A narrative synthesis. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change. 2020;11(3):e641.
43. Kurisu KH, Bortoleto AP. Comparison of waste prevention behaviors among three Japanese megacity regions in the context of local measures and socio-demographics. Waste Management. 2011;31(7):1441-9.
44. Krettenauer T. Pro‐environmental behavior and adolescent moral development. Journal of Research on Adolescence. 2017;27(3):581-93.
45. Qin Z, Wu Q, Bi C, Deng Y, Hu Q. The relationship between climate change anxiety and pro-environmental behavior in adolescents: the mediating role of future self-continuity and the moderating role of green self-efficacy. BMC psychology. 2024;12(1):241.
46. Şahin MG, Boztunç Öztürk N. Eğitim alanında ölçek geliştirme süreci: Bir içerik analizi çalışması [Scale development process in educational field: A content analysis research]. Kastamonu Education Journal. 2018;26(1):191-9.

There are 46 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language	English
Subjects	Behavioural Epidemiology, Public Health (Other)
Journal Section	ORİJİNAL MAKALE
Authors	Didem Han Yekdeş 0000-0002-3057-4617 Ali Cem Yekdeş 0000-0002-8928-2053 Safiye Takır Stewart 0000-0003-3345-9590 Miraç Çağlayan 0000-0002-0897-0496 Hatice Uysal 0000-0001-9851-5042 Ülfiye Çelikkalp 0000-0002-9945-2984 Galip Ekuklu 0000-0002-8915-6970
Publication Date	May 2, 2025
Submission Date	November 15, 2024
Acceptance Date	March 11, 2025
Published in Issue	Year 2025 Volume: 47 Issue: 3

Cite

Vancouver	Han Yekdeş D, Yekdeş AC, Takır Stewart S, Çağlayan M, Uysal H, Çelikkalp Ü, Ekuklu G. Current Topic in Developing World: Are Early Adolescents Aware of Climate Change?. Osmangazi Tıp Dergisi. 2025;47(3):373-85.

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