Climate anxiety, pro-environmental behavior, and perceived barriers in university students: analysis of a publicly available dataset from the United States.

On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake triggered a tsunami and nuclear accident . Studies have indicated that radiation exposure levels in Fukushima Prefecture following the disaster were not high enough to cause a significant increase in cancer rates or cases of acute radiation syndrome . Nevertheless, various health problems occurred in the local population . One of the most serious of these is psychological problems . In fact, a high percentage of evacuees in Fukushima Prefecture experienced mental distress and traumatic reactions . In addition, mental health problems are known to have been aggravated in past radiation disasters, such as the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident, and mental health effects are a typical health effect of radiation disasters . A typical factor that worsens mental health after a radiation disaster is the risk perception of radiation exposure . That is, residents with high radiation risk perception tend to selectively pay attention to rumors and other anxiety-provoking elements in the local news and, as a result, express a strong sense of anxiety about radiation-induced disorders and illnesses . A 20-year post-Chernobyl nuclear accident review revealed that clean-up workers at the plant experienced rates of depression, anxiety, and medically unexplained physical symptoms two to four times higher than control groups . The severity of these conditions was strongly correlated with the workers’ perception of risk . Furthermore, a study of evacuees in Fukushima Prefecture found similar results, with a positive correlation between risk perception and mental distress . Of note, even after international organizations such as the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation concluded that radiation-related adverse health effects following the Fukushima nuclear accident were negligible, mental health issues associated with radiation risk perception have persisted . For instance, a study conducted four years post-disaster in Kawauchi Village found that approximately half of the residents believed radiation exposure would cause health problems . Moreover, research on residents in evacuation zones seven years after the disaster revealed that while mental distress scores decreased over time, they remained elevated . These findings underscore the importance of recognizing that radiation risk perception may have long-term mental health impacts, independent of scientific conclusions about actual radiation risks.