Abstract:Measures of sustainable behavior (SB) usually include the self-report of activities aimed at the conservation of the natural environment. The sustainability notion explicitly incorporates both the satisfaction of human needs and the need of conserving the natural environment. Yet, the assessment of sustainable behaviors rarely considers the protection of the social environment as situation to investigate. In this paper, we propose the use of an instrument assessing SB, which includes the report of pro-ecological and frugal actions in addition to altruistic and equitable behaviors. The responses provided by 807 Mexican undergraduates to a questionnaire investigating those four instances of SB were processed within a structural equation model. Emotional (indignation due to environmental destruction, affinity towards diversity, happiness) and rational (intention to act) factors assumedly linked to sustainable behavior were also investigated. Significant interrelations among pro-ecological, frugal, altruistic and equitable behaviors resulted, suggesting the presence of a higher-order-factor that we identified as SB. This factor, in turn, significantly correlated with the rest of the investigated pro-environmental factors.

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This article addresses the link existing between sustainable behavior (SB) and the character strengths that constitute universal virtues. Research was conducted to confirm the idea that SB comprises actions of virtuous nature. SB is defined as a positive behavior aimed at the protection of the socio-physical environment, including pro-ecological, altruistic, frugal, and equitable behaviors as its constituting facets. Four hundred eighty Mexican participants responded to the Values in Action Survey—measuring character strengths—and a questionnaire assessing SB. A structural equation model was specified and tested. The results confirmed the presence of six first-order factors (character strengths) so highly interrelated as to produce a higher order factor of “common virtues.” A SB factor was also formed from the interrelations between pro-ecological, altruistic, frugal, and equitable behaviors. The common virtues factor was strongly related to SB (R2 = .54), supporting the hypothesized virtuous nature of SB.

Given the environmental problems humanity is currently facing, and considering that the future of the planet lies in the hands of children and their actions, research on the determinants of sustainable behaviors in children has become more relevant; nonetheless, studies on this topic focusing on children are scarce. Previous research on adults suggests, in an isolated manner, the relationship between connectedness to nature, the development of behaviors in favor of the environment, and positive results derived from them, such as happiness and well-being. In the present research, connectedness to nature was considered as a determinant of sustainable behaviors, and happiness was considered as a positive consequence of the latter. This research aimed to demonstrate the relationship between these variables in children. Two hundred and ninety-six children with an average age of 10.42 years old participated in the study, in which they responded to a research instrument that measured connectedness to nature, sustainable behaviors (pro-ecological behavior, frugality, altruism, and equity), and happiness. To analyze the relationships between these variables, a model of structural equations was specified and tested. The results revealed a significant relationship between connectedness to nature and sustainable behaviors, which, in turn, impact happiness. This suggests that children who perceive themselves as more connected to nature tend to perform more sustainable behaviors; also, the more proecological, frugal, altruistic, and equitable the children are, the greater their perceived happiness will be. The implications for studying and promoting sustainable behaviors are discussed within the framework of positive psychology.

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