What Is Solastalgia and How Is It Measured? SOS, a Validated Scale in Population Exposed to Drought and Forest Fires

Cristian Cáceres, Marcelo Leiva-Bianchi, Carlos Serrano, Yony Ormazábal (), Carlos Mena and Juan Carlos Cantillana
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Cristian Cáceres: Laboratory of Methodology, Behavioral Sciences, and Neurosciences, Faculty of Psychology, Universidad de Talca, Talca 3460000, Chile
Marcelo Leiva-Bianchi: Laboratory of Methodology, Behavioral Sciences, and Neurosciences, Faculty of Psychology, Universidad de Talca, Talca 3460000, Chile
Carlos Serrano: Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Autonomous University of Chile, Talca Campus, Talca 3460000, Chile
Yony Ormazábal: Faculty of Economics and Business, Universidad de Talca, Talca 3460000, Chile
Carlos Mena: Faculty of Economics and Business, Universidad de Talca, Talca 3460000, Chile
Juan Carlos Cantillana: Faculty of Administration and Economics, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, Santiago 8320000, Chile

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-11

Abstract: Solastalgia is a recent concept that refers to disruptive psychological responses in people exposed to environmental degradation. The aim of this study was to determine the number of dimensions solastalgia has using a sample of people exposed to the effects of climate change in the coastal dry land of Maule region, Chile. In order to achieve this, a Scale Of Solastalgia (SOS) was designed and then validated, by means of applying it to 223 inhabitants at the municipalities of Pencahue ( n = 105) and Curepto ( n = 118), who were also evaluated by the Short Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Rating Interview (SPRINT-E). Using robust validation methods (Parallel factor analysis and Omega), two dimensions were obtained for solastalgia: solace and algia . Both correlate with the SPRINT-E scale (r = 0.150, p < 0.01 and r = 0.359, p < 0.01, respectively) and have 58% sensitivity and 67% specificity to detect cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Like PTSD, solastalgia is related to psychopathologies expected after disasters and also presents a spatial pattern where the concentration of positive cases occurs in places of greater exposure to environmental change or degradation.

Keywords: PTSD; SOS; climate change; solace; algia; environment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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