Abstract

Background: Eco-anxiety, the worry and distress that people experience in response to environmental degradation and climate change, is increasingly reported among young adults. Locus of control, the extent to which people believe that outcomes depend on their own actions or on external forces, may be relevant to how such distress is experienced, yet few studies have examined the two constructs together among college students. Objectives: The present study examined the relationship between locus of control and eco-anxiety among college students. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational design was used. A sample of 201 college students aged 18 to 26 years was recruited through convenience sampling and completed an online survey comprising a demographic questionnaire, the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scales, which assess internal, powerful others and chance control beliefs, and the Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s product-moment correlation and multiple linear regression. Results: The mean eco-anxiety score was 10.76 (SD = 7.94). Internal locus of control was not significantly correlated with eco-anxiety (r = −.05, p = .524), whereas powerful others beliefs (r = .30) and chance beliefs (r = .33) were significantly and positively correlated with eco-anxiety (both p < .01). In a regression model with powerful others and chance as predictors, the two external dimensions together explained 12% of the variance in eco-anxiety (R² = .120, F(2, 198) = 13.454, p < .001); chance beliefs made a significant unique contribution (β = .23, p = .012), whereas powerful others beliefs did not (β = .14, p = .124). Conclusion: The findings indicate that stronger external control beliefs, particularly the belief that outcomes are a matter of chance, are associated with higher eco-anxiety among college students, whereas internal control beliefs show no such association. Because the design was cross-sectional and the sample was a convenience sample, these associations should not be interpreted as causal. The results suggest that approaches which strengthen students’ sense of agency and constructive engagement with environmental issues merit examination in future intervention research.