From Eco-Anxiety to Climate Activism: The Moderating Role of Collective Efficacy Among Generation Z in Indonesia

Abstract

Escalating environmental hazards across Indonesia have transformed the climate crisis into a collective mental-health and sociological concern, yet whether ecological anxiety paralyses or mobilises young people remains contested, and Global South evidence is scarce. Drawing on the Social Identity Model of Collective Action integrated with collective-efficacy theory, this study examined whether collective efficacy moderates the eco-anxiety to climate activism relationship and whether catalytic eco-anger mediates it. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 1,500 Generation Z respondents aged 16 to 24 years recruited through public organizations in Palembang, South Sumatera, Indonesia, using validated multi-item five-point Likert scales. Analyses comprised reliability and confirmatory measurement modelling, a correlation matrix, hierarchical moderated regression with simple-slope decomposition, bootstrapped mediation, and diagnostics for common-method bias, multicollinearity, and clustering. All constructs were reliable (Cronbach's alpha 0.84-0.88; McDonald's omega 0.84-0.87; composite reliability 0.84-0.87; average variance extracted 0.63-0.65) and discriminant validity was supported (heterotrait-monotrait ratios <=0.62). Common-method bias was not a threat (Harman first factor 36.96%). Collective efficacy positively predicted activism (beta = 0.39, 95% CI [0.35, 0.43], p < 0.001) and significantly moderated the eco-anxiety to activism path (interaction beta = 0.57, 95% CI [0.53, 0.60], p < 0.001; Delta-R2 = 0.32; f2 = 0.55). Simple slopes showed a crossover: eco-anxiety was associated with lower activism at low efficacy (-0.56) but higher activism at high efficacy (0.57). Catalytic eco-anger competitively mediated the association (indirect = 0.33, 95% CI [0.29, 0.38]) against a negative direct effect (-0.24). Collective efficacy conditions whether climate distress becomes organised activism, extending collective-action theory to the Global South and informing Indonesian youth and climate policy.