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A cross-national perspective on youth environmental attitudes

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Abstract

The environmental attitudes of young people are a growing topic of interest for social scientists. Most research that aims to explain differences in (youth) environmental attitudes focuses on the individual as the level of measurement. There is, however, a growing body of evidence that illustrates that the context within which that individual operates can contribute to their environmental attitudes. Based on the PISA 2006 data, and while controlling for individual characteristics, we tested Inglehart’s ‘objective problems, subjective values’ hypothesis. This hypothesis divides the contextual influences on environmental attitudes into (1) objective problems in the individual’s natural environment and (2) subjective values linked to post-materialistic goals in life. We analyzed both the individual and the country level simultaneously, controlling for compositional effects, by performing a multilevel analysis on the 2006 PISA data for youth environmental attitudes (398,750 15 year olds from 56 countries). At the individual level, the results are generally consistent with the literature; at the contextual level, the stage of development of a country (as a proxy for post-materialistic values) is shown to be unrelated to environmental attitudes. Both natural riches of a country and its environmental problems are shown to positively influence the environmental attitudes of that country’s youth. These results are discussed in relation to the ‘objective problems, subjective values’ hypothesis. The results also point towards the necessity of simultaneously assessing the effect of individual- and contextual-level characteristics on environmental attitudes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Education and Information Sciences, University of Antwerp, Prinsstraat 13, 2000, Antwerp, Belgium

    Jelle Boeve-de Pauw & Peter Van Petegem

Authors
  1. Jelle Boeve-de Pauw
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  2. Peter Van Petegem
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jelle Boeve-de Pauw.

Appendix

Appendix

Items in the ENVATT scale (taken from PISA 2006 student Questionnaire)

How much do you agree with the statements below? (Strongly agree—Agree—Disagree—Strongly disagree). Cronbach’s Alpha: 0.79

  1. 1.

    It is important to carry out regular checks on the emissions from cars as a condition of their use.

  2. 2.

    It disturbs me when energy is wasted through the unnecessary use of electrical appliances.

  3. 3.

    I am in favour of having laws that regulate factory emissions even if this would increase the price of products.

  4. 4.

    To reduce waste, the use of plastic packaging should be kept to a minimum.

  5. 5.

    Industries should be required to prove that they safely dispose of dangerous waste materials.

  6. 6.

    I am in favour of having laws that protect the habitats of endangered species.

  7. 7.

    Electricity should be produced from renewable sources as much as possible, even if this increases the cost.

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Boeve-de Pauw, J., Van Petegem, P. A cross-national perspective on youth environmental attitudes. Environmentalist 30, 133–144 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10669-009-9253-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10669-009-9253-1

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