Abstract This paper presents a theoretically grounded psychological intervention and pilot study examining the effects of emotional intelligence (EI) skill development on climate emotions and psychological resilience. Participants (N = 37; aged 12–48; 81% female) took part in a three-hour Climate of Emotions workshop during NYC Climate Week 2024. The intervention involved storytelling, creative group expression, and a design thinking/visioning exercise designed to build EI competencies and foster resilience for sustained climate engagement. Pre- and post-intervention data were collected using four sub-scales from the Inventory of Climate Emotions (ICE), and participants' reflective statements on resilience (N = 71) were analyzed qualitatively. Quantitative analyses using a linear mixed-effects model with repeated measures showed significant pre-to-post declines in climate anxiety (− 0.53 points, d = 0.79, p = 0.001) representing a 12.3% reduction, climate isolation (− 0.55 points, d = 0.82, p = 0.001) representing a 19.5% reduction, and climate powerlessness (− 0.41 points, d = 0.61, p = 0.012) representing a 12.2% reduction after adjusting for age and gender. Climate enthusiasm (0.25 points, d = 0.37, p = 0.13) increased 6.3% but did not reach statistical significance. Reflexive thematic analysis identified five resilience themes: balancing self-care, vulnerability, and emotional growth; cultivating self-worth and inner strength; fostering hope and positive outlook; personal agency and action; and connecting and building community. The organization of these themes suggests a progression from inner development to outward engagement, interpreted through a networked ecological framework. Together, these results provide preliminary evidence that EI skill development can reduce climate distress and strengthen resilience amid ongoing climate stressors.
Freedman et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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