Survey among students: “The fear of climate change is real”

The fact that climate change can make you sick is now considered to be well occupied: heat waves, tropical nights, heavy rain or violent wind are increasingly increasing to the body.

But the psyche does not remain unaffected either. How much, now shows a new survey by the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg), supported by the health insurance company MKK.

Between November 2024 and the end of February 2025, around 4,500 students of around 200 universities were interviewed nationwide – it is the first survey of this kind in Germany.

The results reveal a silent mental burden: not only extreme weather such as droughts or floods hit the mind. The knowledge of the climate crisis alone is noticeable.

Every second is afraid

More than every second student stated in the survey of suffering from climate convertible – a value that can be recorded with 21 points or more based on the established Climate Change Anxiety Scale (CCA).

The burden in women (57.6 percent) and even more in people with various gender identity was particularly high: 80.5 percent of them were affected above average. With 42.2 percent of all participants, the extent of fear was in the area of ​​”strong” to “extremely strong”.

Specific weather phenomena also hit the mind: over half of the respondents found heat periods to be particularly psychologically stressful – a value that should increase in the future in the future.

Mental health was measured for the investigation by both the self-assessment of the respondents and with the help of a scientifically recognized screening instrument. This instrument helps to recognize signs of depression and anxiety disorders, thus enabling a more objective assessment of the psychological stress.

The study identified several factors under which fear of climate change was particularly pronounced. Higher values ​​were found in people with mental illnesses, those who had experienced an extreme weather event themselves, as well as with respondents who are convinced that climate change is real and man -made.

Even those who were particularly oriented towards the goal of climate protection reported more often of psychological stress. Also striking: The more information perceived the respondents about climate change or consumed various channels, the greater their concern on average – and vice versa. This can also indicate that worried people were looking for more information, says study author Juliane Stolz from HAW Hamburg.

“The survey shows that the fear of climate change among students is real, their extent depends on individual factors,” summarizes health scientist Juliane. However, the informative value of the data is limited. “Our sample is large and diverse, but not representative,” she explains.

In addition, the high proportion of female participants – over 60 percent – influenced the overall result: “They distort the overall picture, since they were measured by higher psychological stress and fear of climate change than with the male students,” says Stolz.

The voluntary participation in the online survey could also have led to a distortion of the results, since especially those interested in particular could have participated. Ultimately, the study only shows connections, no cause-effect relationships.

In order to better understand and effectively strengthen the mental health of students in the context of climate change, further research and targeted support offers are necessary, proudly emphasizes.