Eco-anxietyNCT07095387
Pilot Study of a School Based Intervention for Coping With Climate Change
A study testing Making room for climate emotions in the classroom in people with Eco-anxiety, run by Université du Québec a Montréal at 1 site in Canada.
Trial summary
The present study aimed to evaluate the impacts of a school-based program that combined creative arts and philosophy inquiry to discuss climate change emotions with children. The objective was to determine if there were changes that could be seen in the group that participated in the weekly workshops (total of 7… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 8 to 13 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Eco-anxiety
- What is being tested?
- Making room for climate emotions in the classroom
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 87 participants
- Where
- 1 siteCanada
- Study dates
- 1 Feb 2024to 25 May 2024
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 8 to 13 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child
Who may be able to join
- Elementary school student in recruited classrooms
Who cannot join
- -
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Eco-anxiety and Coping in Children: Results From a Pilot Randomized Cluster Trial Evaluating the Impact of a Creative Arts and Philosophical Inquiry Intervention for Elementary School Students
The present study aimed to evaluate the impacts of a school-based program that combined creative arts and philosophy inquiry to discuss climate change emotions with children. The objective was to determine if there were changes that could be seen in the group that participated in the weekly workshops (total of 7 workshops) compared to the group who did not participate (control group). A questionnaire was administered to all children before the intervention began and after it finished to compare scores on the variables of coping with climate change, eco-anxiety, intolerance to distress, general anxiety, and self-determination.
- Conditions
- Eco-anxiety
- Being tested
- Making room for climate emotions in the classroom
- Keywords
- art-intervention, philosophy inquiry, eco-anxiety, coping with climate change, school-based intervention
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Making room for climate emotions in the classroomBehavioural
This intervention combined creative arts workshops using drawing, photography, painting and collage to introduce a theme related to climate change and promote emotional expression. The artistic creation was followed by a philosophical inquiry group discussion on a theme related to the artistic creation to allow critical thinking and sharing perceptions.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Creative arts an philosophy inquiry intervention | Experimental | The intervention group received the one workshop per week for 7 weeks. Each workshop combined artistic creation and group philosophical inquiry on a certain theme related to climate change (e.g., responsibility, hope, the beauty of nature) Receives: Behavioral: Making room for climate emotions in the classroom |
| Wait-list control group | No intervention | Not described |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Coping with climate change
The Coping with Climate Change Scale for Adolescents developed by Ojala (2012) uses a Likert-type scale (0 = not true at all for me; 4 = completely true for me) to measure three coping dimensions (problem coping, avoidance coping, and meaning coping). Lower scores represent less usage of this coping strategy, while higher scores indicate high usage of this coping strategy.
Measured: Baseline and 8 weeks
Eco-anxiety
The Hogg Eco-anxiety Scale (2021) was adapted to children by making the language more accessible. The scale is rated on a 4-point Likert type scale (0 = Never, 3 = Almost every day), and higher scores indicate higher eco-anxiety (worst outcomes).
Measured: Baseline and 8 weeks
Secondary outcomes (3)
Intolerance to distress
The Distress Intolerance Index for Youth (Keller, 2019) uses a 5-point Likert type scale (0 = Not at all true for me to 4 = Very true for me), and higher scores indicate higher intolerance to distress (worst outcome).
Measured: Baseline and 8 weeks
General anxiety
The Behavior Assessment Scale for Children 3rd edition for Canadian francophones (BASC-III; Reynolds \& Kamphaus, 2015) uses a Likert-type scale (0 = never to 3 = almost always), and higher scores indicate higher anxiety symptoms (worst outcome).
Measured: Baseline and 8 weeks
Self-determination
The Self-Determination at School Scale (Savard et al., 2013) uses a 5-point Likert-type scale (from 0 = Almost never to 4 = Almost always) where higher scores indicate higher levels of self-determination (better outcome).
Measured: Baseline and 8 weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted31 Jul 2025
- Study start1 Feb 2024
- Primary completion28 Apr 2024
- Study completion25 May 2024
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Eco-anxietyStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- Randomized cluster trial
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 87 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Université du Québec a Montréal
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Bishop's University
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Terra Léger-Goodes, Université du Québec a Montréal
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07095387
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 767-2023-1376
- Other IDs
- 767-2023-1376
- Status last verified
- Jul 2025
- First submitted
- 1 Jul 2025
- Last updated
- 31 Jul 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: De-identified individual participant data (IPD) collected in this study will not be made publicly available, but can be obtained by contacting the researchers directly.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 31 Jul 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Eco-anxiety and Coping in Children: Results From a Pilot Randomized Cluster Trial Evaluating the Impact of a Creative Arts and Philosophical Inquiry Intervention for Elementary School Students
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07095387
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 767-2023-1376
- Conditions
- Eco-anxiety
- Keywords
- art-intervention, philosophy inquiry, eco-anxiety, coping with climate change, school-based intervention
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 87 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Université du Québec a MontréalUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Bishop's University
- Study start
- 1 Feb 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 28 Apr 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 25 May 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 31 Jul 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The present study aimed to evaluate the impacts of a school-based program that combined creative arts and philosophy inquiry to discuss climate change emotions with children. The objective was to determine if there were changes that could be seen in the group that participated in the weekly workshops (total of 7 workshops) compared to the group who did not participate (control group). A questionnaire was administered to all children before the intervention began and after it finished to compare scores on the variables of coping with climate change, eco-anxiety, intolerance to distress, general anxiety, and self-determination.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- Randomized cluster trial
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Creative arts an philosophy inquiry intervention | Experimental | Behavioral: Making room for climate emotions in the classroomThe intervention group received the one workshop per week for 7 weeks. Each workshop combined artistic creation and group philosophical inquiry on a certain theme related to climate change (e.g., responsibility, hope, the beauty of nature) |
| Wait-list control group | No intervention | – |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 8 to 13 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Elementary school student in recruited classrooms
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- -
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Making room for climate emotions in the classroomThis intervention combined creative arts workshops using drawing, photography, painting and collage to introduce a theme related to climate change and promote emotional expression. The artistic creation was followed by a philosophical inquiry group discussion on a theme related to the artistic creation to allow critical thinking and sharing perceptions. | Behavioural | Creative arts an philosophy inquiry intervention |
Primary outcome
Coping with climate change
Time frame: Baseline and 8 weeks
The Coping with Climate Change Scale for Adolescents developed by Ojala (2012) uses a Likert-type scale (0 = not true at all for me; 4 = completely true for me) to measure three coping dimensions (problem coping, avoidance coping, and meaning coping). Lower scores represent less usage of this coping strategy, while higher scores indicate high usage of this coping strategy.
Eco-anxiety
Time frame: Baseline and 8 weeks
The Hogg Eco-anxiety Scale (2021) was adapted to children by making the language more accessible. The scale is rated on a 4-point Likert type scale (0 = Never, 3 = Almost every day), and higher scores indicate higher eco-anxiety (worst outcomes).
3 secondary outcomes
Intolerance to distress
Time frame: Baseline and 8 weeks
General anxiety
Time frame: Baseline and 8 weeks
Self-determination
Time frame: Baseline and 8 weeks
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 31 Jul 2025.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. De-identified individual participant data (IPD) collected in this study will not be made publicly available, but can be obtained by contacting the researchers directly.
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Healthy Children
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Making room for climate emotions in the classroom in people with Eco-anxiety, run by Université du Québec a Montréal at 1 site in Canada.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 31 Jul 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Canada. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Coping with climate change (time frame: Baseline and 8 weeks). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 31 Jul 2025.