Validating the Italian Version of the Climate Change Coping Scale and Testing the Moderating Role of Coping Strategies in the Relationship Between Climate Change Information Exposure and Eco-Worry

In a polycrisis scenario, climate change represents one of the most urgent challenges of our time. The increasingly evident effects of this threat are raising global worry and configuring it as a source of chronic stress capable of impacting mental health, particularly among emerging adults. The present contribution describes the process of adaptation and validation of the Climate Change Coping Scale (CCCS) (Study I) and explores the role of coping strategies as protective or risk factors in the relationship between climate change information exposure (CCIE) and eco-worry (Study II). The results of Study I, conducted in two phases on two independent samples of Italian emerging adults (N₁ = 230; 57.4% female; N₂ = 500; 61.4% female), demonstrate the solid psychometric properties of the Italian version of the CCCS. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a first-order factor structure with three correlated dimensions - namely, Meaning-Focused Coping, Problem-Centered Coping, and De-Emphasizing/Avoiding Coping - with good fit indices (CFI = 0.94; TLI = 0.93; RMSEA = 0.06; SRMR = 0.06). The instrument also showed good dimensional reliability, measurement invariance across gender, and evidence of convergent, nomological, and discriminant validity. The results of Study II, conducted on a sample of 642 Italian emerging adults (M = 22.84; SD = 3.06; 62.1% female), indicate that exposure to climate change information is predominantly passive rather than actively sought. Social media emerge as the main information source and are associated with higher levels of eco-worry and negative affect compared to traditional media. CCIE is positively associated with both eco-worry and predominantly negative emotional responses, including anger, guilt, and helplessness. Finally, moderation analyses showed that problem-focused and meaning-focused coping strategies mitigate the impact of CCIE on eco-worry, whereas de-emphasizing and avoidant coping strategies exacerbate it. Overall, the findings of Study I confirm the psychometric robustness of the Italian version of the CCCS, while those of Study II highlight the central role of coping strategies in modulating the relationship between CCIE and eco-worry, offering useful insights for the development of targeted interventions aimed at supporting emerging adults in coping with the threat of climate change.