Eco-Anxiety and Socio-Environmental Distress in Older Adults Residing in an Andean Nursing Home in Cuenca, Ecuador

Abstract

Global warming and ecosystem degradation generate emerging forms of psychological distress, including eco-anxiety; however, the experience of this phenomenon among older adults living in care institutions remains largely unexplored in the literature, particularly in Andean cities. Situated within the field of Environmental Psychology, this study explores how residents of an Andean nursing home in Cuenca, Ecuador, understand and experience climate and environmental changes in their daily lives and mental health. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals aged 87 to 95 years (predominantly women), employing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) with an idiographic and comparative focus. The analysis revealed five themes: (a) climate as an embodied experience that intensifies physical vulnerability; (b) climate concerns combining fear, guilt, and responsibility toward future generations; (c) feelings of powerlessness and socio-environmental injustice associated with age and residential care living; (d) coping strategies marked by faith, resignation, news avoidance, and a desire for collective participation; and (e) nature as a source of biographical memory, territorial identity, and a legacy horizon. Results demonstrate that eco-anxiety and socio-environmental distress are intertwined with accumulated grief, structural inequalities, and barriers to accessing meaningful green spaces. Implications for climate-sensitive geriatric care are discussed, including nature-based interventions and psychosocial support that recognize the agency and voice of older adults in the face of the ecological crisis.