Anxiety, especially within the realm of eco-anxiety, has become an increasingly significant focus of research. In our exploration of eco-anxiety within the Arab Libyan population, we employed a cross-sectional approach and successfully validated the Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS-13). Across two separate subsamples, both Exploratory (n = 790) [M = 21.64 (SD = 3.51), % women = 86.8] and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (n = 829) [M = 22.24 (SD = 3.76), % women = 84.6] confirmed the validity of HEAS-13. This scale effectively captured four distinct dimensions of eco-anxiety: affective symptoms, rumination, behavioral symptoms, and anxiety regarding one’s negative impact on the planet. Moreover, the total HEAS-13 and its dimensions had good internal consistency coefficients, ranging from 0.65 to 0.82. The findings highlight significant correlations between eco-anxiety subscales, behavioral symptoms, and rumination, indicating distinct profiles of eco-anxiety. Additionally structural equation modelling analysis revealed that eco-anxiety dimensions serve as a significant predictor of various psychological symptoms, climate change perception and climate value, emphasizing the interconnectedness between eco-anxiety and psychological distress. Furthermore, Sex-specific differences in eco-anxiety and its associations with climate change perceptions are explored, suggesting heightened awareness and involvement among females. The results emphasize eco-anxiety as a quantifiable psychological phenomenon, demonstrably measured through our 13-item eco-anxiety scale and associated with the mental health outcomes.

1. Libya's civil wars (2011–2020) caused many deaths, injuries, refugees, insecurity, and financial crises (Daw et al., 2019). The Libyan citizens suffered from several psychological symptoms, such...

The aim of the study was to investigate the mediating roles of resilience, posttraumatic growth (PTG) and religiosity between the impact of hurricane trauma and psychological distress. Using a cross‐sectional design, the study involved 101 Libyan participants with an average age of 30.43 years (SD = 9.59), of whom 72% were women. Participants completed validated tests, including the Impact of Event Scale (IES), Brief Resilience Scale, Muslim Religiosity Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). The results indicated that posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) were not associated with PTG (r = 0.04, p > 0.05) or religiosity (r = 0.02, p > 0.05) but were negatively associated with resilience (r = −0.39, p < 0.001) and positively associated with psychological distress including anxiety (r = 0.72, p < 0.001) and depression (r = 0.69, p < 0.001). Structural equation modelling (SEM) revealed that only resilience positively mediated the association between PTSS and anxiety (indirect effect = 0.04, p = 0.031), while PTSS positively predicted psychological distress (β = 0.037, p < 0.001). Network analysis identified parent loss is strongly connected with intrusion (r = 0.121), as most central node, while partner loss was associated with hyperarousal (r = 0.063), irritability (r = 0.036) and both share the same connection with numbing, while interestingly partner and friends loss share connection with resilience (r = 0.177). The study concludes that urgent clinical interventions, such as trauma‐focused cognitive behavioural therapy, are required for the affected individuals, with a focus on enhancing resilience as a protective factor against PTSS.