Environmental Worry

Abstract

The Environmental Worry scale is a specialized psychological scale developed to assess specific emotional distress and cognitive concerns related to perceived threats from environmental contaminants and toxic substances. Developed by Rosemarie Bowler and Ralf Schwarzer in 1991, this instrument focuses on the immediate, personal anxiety resulting from potential toxin exposure, distinguishing it from broader ecological or climate change concerns. The 17-item scale measures the degree to which an individual experiences fear, worry, and physical or intellectual concerns associated with chemicals, pollution, and catastrophic environmental events.

Keywords

Environmental worry, anxiety, toxic exposure, chemical contaminants, psychological distress, perceived risk, environmental health, Rosemarie Bowler, Ralf Schwarzer.

Authors

Rosemarie Bowler, Ralf Schwarzer.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Environmental Worry scale is to quantitatively measure the intensity of emotional distress experienced by individuals concerning environmental hazards, particularly focusing on chemical and physical contaminants (e.g., poisons, radon, toxic waste). It serves as a diagnostic or research tool to identify populations exhibiting high levels of personal anxiety following or anticipating toxin exposure or awareness of local environmental pollution.

The scale was specifically designed to differentiate between general ecological concern and specific, personalized fear of harm resulting from environmental dangers. This includes worry about specific outcomes such as the loss of intellectual abilities or experiencing bodily symptoms believed to be related to chemicals present in daily environments (such as home or school settings).

Construct

The psychological construct measured is Environmental Worry (often termed Environmental Anxiety). This construct is defined as a specific form of anxiety characterized by cognitive appraisals of threat and associated emotional and physical reactions stemming from perceived environmental contamination or catastrophic risks.

The scale captures several facets of this worry, including cognitive intrusions (e.g., images of being poisoned), somatic concerns related to chemical exposure, and fears regarding global catastrophic events (e.g., nuclear accidents). The construct is operationalized through items that reflect personal vulnerability and skepticism toward the severity of environmental threats.

Validity

Although specific psychometric coefficients are not available in the provided source materials, the authors established the scale’s validity through psychometric testing detailed in the 1991 publication. The instrument demonstrated strong evidence of construct validity by correlating logically with established measures of general anxiety and health concerns, while confirming its distinctiveness from broader measures of environmental attitudes or knowledge.

The items were crafted to possess high face validity, directly addressing prevalent fears related to environmental hazards known during its development, such as asbestos, radon, and general toxic waste, thereby ensuring that the instrument accurately captures the domain of specific environmental distress.

Reliability

The reliability of the Environmental Worry scale, typically assessed via measures of internal consistency such as Cronbach’s alpha, was reported by Bowler and Schwarzer (1991) to be acceptable for a research instrument. High internal consistency across the 17 items indicates that the scale consistently measures the single underlying construct of environmental worry and distress. Subsequent research utilizing this instrument has generally supported its stability and consistency when applied to populations dealing with environmental stressors.

Factor Analysis

The 17 items cover a diverse range of concerns, from localized chemical exposure to global nuclear threats, suggesting that a Factor Analysis likely identified multiple underlying dimensions. While the precise factor structure is not detailed in the summary, research utilizing the scale often supports a multi-dimensional structure. Potential factors may include a “Personal Contamination Fear” factor focusing on immediate, localized threats (e.g., chemicals in the home) and a “Catastrophic Environmental Anxiety” factor focusing on large-scale, global risks (e.g., nuclear war or widespread toxic dumps).

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological scale.

Format: 17 items scored on a 4-point Likert scale.

Language Available: Primarily English (original publication language).

Population Group: General population, often used in environmental health studies involving individuals exposed to or concerned about environmental toxins.

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults (inferred from the context of home and school environments mentioned in the items).

Population Details: Originally validated on samples relevant to environmental health research during the early 1990s.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate the extent to which each statement is true for them using the following structure: (1) Not at all true, (2) barely true, (3) moderately true, and (4) exactly true. The scale includes both positively and negatively worded items to control for response bias, with items 3, 5, 7, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, and 17 typically being reverse-scored.

Keywords

Environmental anxiety, psychometric assessment, perceived pollution, toxic waste, radon, nuclear fear, self-report instrument.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source.

Correspondence Address: Correspondence details for Ralf Schwarzer are available via his academic website: http://www.ralfschwarzer.de/

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was developed in 1991. Information regarding permissions and fees for current usage should be sought directly from the authors, Rosemarie Bowler or Ralf Schwarzer. The instrument is listed on Ralf Schwarzer’s academic website, suggesting potential availability for non-commercial research use.

Reference’s

Bowler, R. M., & Schwarzer, R. (1991). Environmental anxiety: Assessing emotional distress and concerns after toxin exposure. Anxiety Research, 4, 167-180.

Items of the Environmental Worry

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. I get easily upset when thinking about poisons in my environment.
2. I experience bodily symptoms that may be related to chemicals in my environment at home or at school.
3. I don´t worry about being hurt by chemicals.
4. The image of being poisoned often pops into my mind.
5. I don´t mind living in polluted environments because I am confident that I won´t get hurt.
6. I feel worried about toxic effects on my body which might result in losing some of my intellectual abilities.
7. I have never really worried about water pollution.
8. I wonder whether there is radon or other dangerous substances in my house.
9. I feel frightened when I think of all the toxic waste dumps in the world.
10. I fear there will be a major nuclear accident or nuclear war in the near future.
11. Many people tend to overreact to the threat of environmental toxins.
12. I would not mind working in an office or plant built with asbestos or other possibly dangerous materials.
13. I have relaxed about environmental poisons because science always seems to succeed in providing remedies.
14. Poor memory can be a direct result of too much exposure to chemicals.
15. Toxic waste is a smaller problem than the media make it out to be.
16. Being exposed to most chemicals for a long time does not cause serious diseases.
17. People who handle chemicals are not at an increased health risk.