The relationships between environmental sensitivity, ecological worldview, personal norms and pro‐environmental behaviors in Chinese children: Testing the value–belief–norm model with environmental sensitivity as an emotional basis

Abstract

This study addresses the relationships that ecological worldview, environmental sensitivity, and personal norms have with pro-environmental behaviors in a particular child population in urban China. The survey questionnaires were distributed to 410 Grade 6 students from eight Green Schools in Shenzhen, China. The sample included 223 (54.3%) boys and 187 (45.6%) girls with ages ranging from 10 to 13 years. The results from structural equation modelling reveal that environmental sensitivity and personal norms were two critical factors in determining students' pro-environmental behaviors. The influence of ecological worldview was fully mediated by personal norms, whereas the effect of environmental sensitivity was partially mediated by both personal norms and ecological worldview.

Is Knowledge of Circular Economy, Pro-Environmental Behavior, Satisfaction with Life, and Beliefs a Predictor of Connectedness to Nature in Rural Children and Adolescents? A Pilot Study

“…Regarding satisfaction with life, we found that the members of the group with the highest scores were 7 times more likely to feel a higher degree of connectivity with nature. Considering that satisfaction with life is an indicator of well-being and, therefore, of health, this finding supports the positive and significant relationships between well-being, health, and connectivity with nature found in both adults [37,40,49] and children [35], although, in contrast with Wang and Kang's findings [16], it is only a reciprocal influence. In this vein, the results indicate that well-being is a relevant aspect to be considered in both public health agendas [50] and the United Nations SD agenda, i.e., the 2030 Agenda.…”

“…Some research with children has focused on analyzing the role of experiences in natural environments and their relation to PEBs, finding positive relationships between them [33] and an increase in connectedness to nature [34]. Regarding age, connectedness to nature is related to PEBs in both adults [12,27,28] and children [35]. Moreover, rural environments and the proximity of nature to home have been associated with greater connectedness to nature and the fostering of PEBs in children [36].…”

“…In adults, this relationship has been shown without significant differences for sex, ethnicity, or age [41], emphasizing that groups that tend to be more connected to nature tend to feel more satisfaction with life compared with those who are less connected to nature [38]. In this regard, it is stressed that environmental education for children should consider environmental sensitization and beliefs about the environment in order to promote SD [35].…”

How love of nature promotes green consumer behaviors: The mediating role of biospheric values, ecological worldview, and personal norms

“…This study proposes love of nature as an antecedent variable of biospheric values, ecological worldview, and personal norms in terms of their relationships to GCBs. In an earlier study, Wu (2018) tested the relationships among ecological worldview, personal norms, love of nature, and general pro-environmental behavior among child populations in China. This study goes one step further by taking the value variables into consideration and examining the model among young adult populations (i.e., undergraduate students) in eastern China.…”

Çevresel Tutumların ve Çevresel Davranışların, Çevresel Duyarlılık ve Algılanan Çevresel Riskler ile İlişkisi

“…Awareness of ecofeminist and ecocentric ethics affects environmental attitudes positively (Yalmancı & Gözüm, 2019). In a study conducted in China, it was reported that the impact of the ecological worldview is completely mediated by personal norms whereas environmental sensitivity is mediated by both personal norms and the ecological worldview (Lingqiong, 2018). The results of the present study suggest that the natural resource depletion risk is related to not holding the ecological worldview and to being more dependent on norms in developing environmental behaviors.…”