Environmental-related hazards are a global problem; consequently, an Environmental Worry Index (EWI) was developed; however, the psychometric properties of this scale in the Spanish population are unavailable.
The objective of this study was to adapt and examine the psychometric properties of an Environmental Worry Inventory (EWI) in a Spanish-speaking student population.
This study adopted a cross-sectional design. It used a snowball sampling technique to collect data using the compact questionnaire comprise of EWI, Climate Anxiety Scale (CAS), and Big Five Inventory (BFI-15) from 251 participants in 2023 among students of Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez (UACJ), Juarez, Mexico.
Results of exploratory factor analysis (EFA), the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO=0.891) and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity (p < 0.001) showed adequate data. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; χ2 (5) = 78,595, CFI = 0.94, and RMSEA=0.078) demonstrated adequate goodness of fit. EWI was associated with CAS, and neuroticism dimension of BFI-15. It has an acceptable overall Cronbach Alpha coefficient (α = 0.890); the two subscale factors’ reliability coefficients ranged from .80 to .89.
The study concluded that EWI is reliable, valid and recommended for use among Mexicans especially the Spanish speaking students.