International Journal of Human Capital in Urban Management
Quarterly Publication

Environmental Worry Index-11: development, validity, and reliability

https://doi.org/10.22034/IJHCUM.2023.01.03
Volume 8, Issue 1 - Serial Number 29
Winter 2023
Pages 31-42
International Journal of Human Capital in Urban Management

Document Type : ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Authors

R. Oguntayo 1
S. F. Agberotimi 2
P. O. Ajao 3
O. T. Oladele 4
A. O. Olaseni 1
O. D. Ajibewa 5

1 Department of Psychology, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria

2 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Nigeria

3 Department of Psychology, University of Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria

4 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria.

5 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, LAUTECH, Ogbomosho, Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Environmental worry involve primarily the thoughts of some hazardous immediate and long-run side effects of degradation that happened to our ecological system. Despite the side effects of this phenomenon, psychometrics measuring environmental worry from the African context are insufficient. Therefore, the Environmental Worry Index (EWI-11) was developed to assess proximal and personal experiences of worry about climate change and environmental degradation. 
METHODS: This study used a qualitative method among environmental professionals and students (between the ages of 18 to 65) in a university to generate the themes and the pool of items that were used to determine the Environmental Worry Index (EWI-11). Thereafter, 925 participants were purposively selected and assessed from Ibadan city through a cross-sectional survey to ascertain the validity and reliability of this new scale. The participants were selected in Ibadan city, Nigeria. The software of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (Version 26.0) was used for all analyses.
FINDINGS: Using exploratory factor analysis, the construct validity and Varimax rotation showed that the scale has two components (KMO = 0.892, df=91, p.00), thus showing a strong validity. The reliability dimensions and subscales have meritorious reliability (Proximal, α =.894, and Personal experience of worry, α =.671). The overall Cronbach’s Alpha was 0.894.
CONCLUSION: The EWI-11 is adequate for measuring environmental worry and could be useful for experts in mental and environmental research and practice. EWI-11 is therefore recommended as a reliable and valid screening tool for environmental worry and may be acceptable across Africa and other countries as well.

Keywords

Environmental worry
Environmental worry scale
Environmental degradation
Climate change
Nigeria
Subjects
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  • Receive Date 01 July 2022
  • Revise Date 29 September 2022
  • Accept Date 30 October 2022

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