Are happier adolescents more willing to protect the environment? Empirical evidence from Programme for International Student Assessment 2018

Abstract

A large number of existing studies have discussed the potential factors affecting pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) in adolescents. However, few studies have focused on the possible impact of adolescents’ subjective wellbeing (SWB) on their PEBs. Why and how adolescents’ SWB affects their PEBs remains a puzzle. To unravel this puzzle, this paper aims to establish a suitable instrumental variable (IV) to correctly estimate the contribution of adolescents’ SWB to their PEBs. Using the international data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ‘s Programme for International Student Assessment 2018, we construct a unique dataset of eight countries or economies, which includes 56,374 samples related to the SWB and PEBs of 15-year-old students. In this paper, the days of physical education classes in school per week are used as the IV. Through a two-stage least squares method, we find that the contribution of adolescents’ SWB to PEBs is significantly positive. We also find that the pathway by which SWB improves PEBs works through adolescents’ self-efficacy. Furthermore, the results indicate that the positive impact of SWB on PEBs is more pronounced among adolescents with better peer relationships and stronger multicultural values. Our findings highlight the influence of positive affects in cultivating adolescent’ PEBs and the importance of growing up surrounded by happiness.

Predictors of Pro-Environmental Behaviors in Adolescence: A Scoping Review

“…For age or grade, results are also likely to reveal a nonsignificant association with PEB [48,59,74,76,79]. When significant, results reveal that being older was both positively [36,47,68,85,86] and negatively [12,56,57,69] associated with PEB. For adolescents' ethnicity, results reveal a nonsignificant relationship with PEB [51,58,60,76,77,79], except for Krettenauer et al [57] who found that Chinese adolescents reported more PEB than Canadian adolescents.…”

“…First, multiple studies have looked at sociodemographic factors as correlates of PEB or control variables, including gender, age, ethnicity, living in a rural versus an urban location, parents' education, and family income. For gender, studies suggest either that there is no significant relationship between gender and PEB [9,12,47,51,58,59,73,74,76,77,79], that females engage in more PEB than males [36,49,63,68,69] or that males engage in more PEB than females [60,85,86,88]. For age or grade, results are also likely to reveal a nonsignificant association with PEB [48,59,74,76,79].…”

Exploring the Relationship between Environmental Cognition, Pro-Environmental Behavior, and Mental Health among Adolescents: A Narrative Review

“…It was an essential concern for psychologists like Dewey, Mead, and Barker. (6) The ecological theory by Brofenbrenner suggests that we co-exist with our environments and that our behavior exists because of our environment. (7,8) Environmental hazards like air pollution and bad weather are associated with poor mental health outcomes, such as depression and anxiety disorders.…”