기후변화 및 자연재해 경험이 일반 성인의 정신건강에 미치는 영향 : 개인 특성과 회복탄력성의 역할 = The Effects of Climate Change and Natural Disaster Experiences on Mental Health among General Adults: The Roles of Individual Characteristics and Resilience

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study aimed to examine the effects of climate change and natural disaster experiences and climate anxiety on mental health among general adults, and to investigate the roles of individual characteristics and resilience in this relationship. Climate change has recently been recognized not only as an environmental issue but also as a chronic and structural stressor that poses significant risks to public mental health. Despite growing international research on climate-related psychological impacts, empirical studies focusing on climate anxiety and multiple mental health indicators among general adults in Korea remain limited.
A total of 206 general adults aged 19 years or older participated in an online survey. The main variables included experiences of climate change and natural disasters, climate anxiety, depression, anxiety, stress, somatic symptoms, and resilience. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0, employing descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, regression analysis, moderation analysis, and independent samples t-tests to compare mental health differences between high-risk and low-risk climate anxiety groups.
The results indicated that climate change and natural disaster experiences and climate anxiety were significantly and positively correlated with depression, anxiety, stress, and somatic symptoms. Climate anxiety emerged as a statistically significant predictor of all mental health indicators. Among these outcomes, stress demonstrated the highest explanatory power (R² = .221), suggesting that climate anxiety is closely associated with heightened levels of everyday emotional tension. Resilience showed significant direct effects on mental health indicators; however, its moderating effect on the relationship between climate anxiety and mental health was not supported. This finding implies that while individual psychological resources may function as protective factors in general stress situations, their buffering effects may be limited in the context of chronic and structural climate-related stress.
In addition, individuals in the high-risk climate anxiety group exhibited significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and somatic symptoms compared to those in the low-risk group. These results indicate the presence of a psychologically vulnerable group characterized by elevated climate anxiety.
Overall, the findings suggest that climate change and natural disaster experiences and climate anxiety serve as important risk factors for mental health among general adults, particularly in relation to stress responses. This study contributes to the expansion of climate mental health research by adopting climate anxiety as a central variable and examining mental health outcomes multidimensionally, while also considering the role of resilience. The results provide empirical evidence that may inform early identification of high-risk groups and the development of community-based prevention and intervention strategies in response to the mental health impacts of climate change.
Keywords: Climate Change, Natural Disaster Experiences, Climate Anxiety, Mental Health, Resilienceresilience, general adults

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Ⅰ. 서 론 1
• 1. 연구의 배경 및 필요성 1
• 2. 연구의 목적 3
• 3. 연구문제 3
• 4. 연구가설 3
• 5. 연구의 의의 4
• Ⅱ. 이론적 배경 5
• 1. 기후변화 및 자연재해 경험의 개념과 특성 5
• 2. 기후불안(Climate Anxiety) 5
• 3. 정신건강의 이해: 6
• 4. 회복탄력성(Resilience) 6
• 5. 개인 특성의 역할 6
• 6. 선행연구 고찰 및 요약 7
• Ⅲ. 연구방법 8
• 1. 연구설계 8
• 2. 연구대상 및 표집방법 9
• 3. 연구도구 10
• 4. 자료수집 절차 12
• 5. 자료분석 방법 12
• 6. 윤리적 고려 13
• Ⅳ. 연구결과 14
• 1. 연구대상자의 일반적 특성 14
• 2. 주요 변인의 기술통계 및 신뢰도 17
• 3. 주요 변인 간 상관관계 18
• 4. 기후변화 및 자연재해 경험이 정신건강에 미치는 영향 19
• 5. 회복탄력성의 조절효과 21
• 6. 기후불안 고위험군과 비고위험군 비교 25
• 7. 설정된 연구가설의 검증 요약 26
• Ⅴ. 결론 및 제언 28
• 1. 연구결과의 요약 28
• 2. 연구결과에 대한 논의 29
• 3. 연구의 학문적·실천적 함의 30
• 4. 연구의 제한점 및 향후 연구 제언 31
• 참고문헌 33
• Abstract 36
• 부 록 39