The Moderating Roles of Self-Regulation, Resilience, and Self-Efficacy in the Relationship Between Climate Change Risk Perception and Psychological Distress: An Integrated Theoretical Model

Abstract This study adopts an integrative model to examine the relationship between climate change risk perception and psychological distress among young adults, focusing on the moderating roles of self-regulation, resilience, and self-efficacy. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 2,065 undergraduate students from Cairo University during the first academic semester of 2024, representing approximately 1% of the university’s total student population. Participants completed validated Arabic versions of standardized psychological scales. Data were analyzed using SPSS for descriptive statistics and preliminary analyses, and AMOS for structural equation modeling to assess direct, interaction, and higher-order moderation effects. Findings revealed that climate change risk perception significantly predicted increased psychological distress. Self-regulation and resilience were negatively associated with distress, indicating their protective roles. Unexpectedly, self-efficacy was positively associated with distress. Significant interaction effects emerged only among males, with three-way interactions varying by gender. The four-way interaction was non-significant for both groups. These results illustrate the potential utility of an integrative model in capturing gender-specific psychological responses to climate change. However, they also suggest that individual psychological resources alone may be insufficient to fully explain the mental health impacts of climate risk perception, highlighting the need to consider broader contextual and structural factors in future research and interventions.