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Mental Well-Being and the Eco-State: A Classification of Regions and Countries of the European Union

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Climate Change and Health

Part of the book series: Climate Change Management ((CCM))

Abstract

This chapter reports exploratory research work on the link between mental well-being and the ‘eco-state’ within the context of countries and regions of the European Union (EU). For the purpose of this chapter, the ‘eco-state’ is defined—paraphrasing Meadowcroft (2005: 3)—as “a state that places [climate change] considerations at the core of its activities”. It is hypothesized that regions with higher levels of mental well-being are located in eco-states with a good ecological performance. For the purpose of this work, ecological performance in the area of climate change is measured using the Climate Change Performance Index 2013, while mental well-being using the WHO-5 scale derived from the third wave of the cross-sectional European Quality of Life Survey for the year 2011. Using exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) and regression analysis, regional clusters of mental well-being are identified and classified according to eco-state typologies of EU countries. While it emerges that the better a country performs in ecological terms, the better the levels of regional mental well-being are, the mechanisms of this association remain to be determined. The chapter concludes by suggesting future directions for research on mental well-being and the eco-state.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TN, UK

    Paola E. Signoretta

  2. Department of Sociology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Veerle Buffel & Piet Bracke

Authors
  1. Paola E. Signoretta
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  2. Veerle Buffel
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  3. Piet Bracke
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Correspondence to Paola E. Signoretta .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Life Sciences, Sect., Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. CFE University of Coimbra, Universidade Aberta and, Porto, Portugal

    Ulisses M. Azeiteiro

  3. Universidade Aberta, Porto, Portugal

    Fátima Alves

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Signoretta, P.E., Buffel, V., Bracke, P. (2016). Mental Well-Being and the Eco-State: A Classification of Regions and Countries of the European Union. In: Leal Filho, W., Azeiteiro, U., Alves, F. (eds) Climate Change and Health. Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24660-4_3

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