IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i6p3338-d769716.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Toward the Development and Validation of a Model of Environmental Citizenship of Young Adults

Author

Listed:
  • Mykolas Simas Poškus

    (Department of Environmental Sciences, Vytautas Magnus University, K. Donelaičio Str. 58, 44248 Kaunas, Lithuania)

Abstract

Growing civic participation in environmental movements shows that societies are more engaging in behavior that can be described as environmental citizenship. This behavior, however, may not necessarily be driven by factual knowledge and accurate beliefs. In the present study, a simplified model of environmental citizenship proposed by Hawthorne and Alabaster is tested in a sample of Lithuanian young adults in order to develop a working model of environmental citizenship that could be later used in intervention designs as a change model. A convenience sample of 267 young adults from 18 to 40 years of age participated in the study by filling in a questionnaire that assessed various components that comprise a model of environmental citizenship. The results indicate that, with a few modifications to better fit the data, the model fit the data well and could explain approximately 50% of the variance of environmental citizenship. The study uncovered a gap between factual (concrete) environmental knowledge and environmental literacy (perceived competence), illustrating the need to address this divide in order to ensure evidence-based participation in environmental movements and environmental citizenship behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Mykolas Simas Poškus, 2022. "Toward the Development and Validation of a Model of Environmental Citizenship of Young Adults," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-15, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:6:p:3338-:d:769716
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/6/3338/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/6/3338/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yiannis Georgiou & Andreas Ch. Hadjichambis & Demetra Hadjichambi, 2021. "Teachers’ Perceptions on Environmental Citizenship: A Systematic Review of the Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-29, March.
    2. Shih-Wu Liang & Wei-Ta Fang & Shin-Cheng Yeh & Shiang-Yao Liu & Huei-Min Tsai & Jui-Yu Chou & Eric Ng, 2018. "A Nationwide Survey Evaluating the Environmental Literacy of Undergraduate Students in Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-21, May.
    3. Zhu, Weiwei & Wei, Jiuchang & Zhao, Dingtao, 2016. "Anti-nuclear behavioral intentions: The role of perceived knowledge, information processing, and risk perception," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 168-177.
    4. Andreas Ch. Hadjichambis & Demetra Paraskeva-Hadjichambi, 2020. "Environmental Citizenship Questionnaire (ECQ): The Development and Validation of an Evaluation Instrument for Secondary School Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-12, January.
    5. Marta Romero Ariza & Jelle Boeve-de Pauw & Daniel Olsson & Peter Van Petegem & Gema Parra & Niklas Gericke, 2021. "Promoting Environmental Citizenship in Education: The Potential of the Sustainability Consciousness Questionnaire to Measure Impact of Interventions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-20, October.
    6. Andrew Dobson, 2007. "Environmental citizenship: towards sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(5), pages 276-285.
    7. Audronė Telešienė & Jelle Boeve-de Pauw & Daphne Goldman & Ralph Hansmann, 2021. "Evaluating an Educational Intervention Designed to Foster Environmental Citizenship among Undergraduate University Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-19, July.
    8. Muhammad Mohiuddin & Abdullah Al Mamun & Fazal Ali Syed & Muhammad Mehedi Masud & Zhan Su, 2018. "Environmental Knowledge, Awareness, and Business School Students’ Intentions to Purchase Green Vehicles in Emerging Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-18, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Angela Yi Jing Tsai & Alex Yong Kwang Tan, 2022. "Analysis of Undergraduates’ Environmentally Friendly Behavior: Case Study of Tzu Chi University Environmental Education Program," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-17, July.
    2. Anastasia Adamou & Yiannis Georgiou & Demetra Paraskeva-Hadjichambi & Andreas Ch. Hadjichambis, 2021. "Environmental Citizen Science Initiatives as a Springboard towards the Education for Environmental Citizenship: A Systematic Literature Review of Empirical Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-29, December.
    3. Audronė Telešienė & Jelle Boeve-de Pauw & Daphne Goldman & Ralph Hansmann, 2021. "Evaluating an Educational Intervention Designed to Foster Environmental Citizenship among Undergraduate University Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-19, July.
    4. Ariel Sarid & Daphne Goldman, 2021. "A Value-Based Framework Connecting Environmental Citizenship and Change Agents for Sustainability—Implications for Education for Environmental Citizenship," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-19, April.
    5. Farzana Riva & Solon Magrizos & Mohammad Rabiul Basher Rubel, 2021. "Investigating the link between managers' green knowledge and leadership style, and their firms' environmental performance: The mediation role of green creativity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 3228-3240, November.
    6. Niklas Harring & Sverker C. Jagers, 2013. "Should We Trust in Values? Explaining Public Support for Pro-Environmental Taxes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-18, January.
    7. Gaston Fornes & Abel Monfort & Camelia Ilie & Chun Kwong (Tony) Koo & Guillermo Cardoza, 2019. "Ethics, Responsibility, and Sustainability in MBAs. Understanding the Motivations for the Incorporation of ERS in Less Traditional Markets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-22, December.
    8. Qi, Wen-Hui & Qi, Ming-Liang & Ji, Ya-Min, 2020. "The effect path of public communication on public acceptance of nuclear energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    9. Abdullah Al Mamun & Syed Ali Fazal & Muhammad Mehedi Masud & Ganeshsree Selvachandran & Noor Raihani Zainol & Quek Shio Gai, 2020. "The Underlying Drivers of Underprivileged Households’ Intention and Behavior towards Community Forestry Management: A Study Using Structural Equation Modelling and Artificial Neural Network Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-26, September.
    10. Wang, Yu & Gu, Jibao & Wu, Jianlin, 2020. "Explaining local residents’ acceptance of rebuilding nuclear power plants: The roles of perceived general benefit and perceived local benefit," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    11. Claudio Siminelli, 2017. "Consumer behaviours and attitudes towards a circular economy: Knowledge and culture as determinants in a four-market analysis," ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2017(1-2), pages 135-169.
    12. Wang, Fan & Gu, Jibao & Wu, Jianlin, 2020. "Perspective taking, energy policy involvement, and public acceptance of nuclear energy: Evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    13. Minou Ella Mebane & Maura Benedetti & Daniela Barni & Donata Francescato, 2023. "Promoting Climate Change Awareness with High School Students for a Sustainable Community," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-15, July.
    14. Dolors Setó-Pamies & Eleni Papaoikonomou, 2020. "Sustainable Development Goals: A Powerful Framework for Embedding Ethics, CSR, and Sustainability in Management Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-8, February.
    15. Kuo Ming Chu, 2018. "Mediating Influences of Attitude on Internal and External Factors Influencing Consumers’ Intention to Purchase Organic Foods in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-15, December.
    16. Nomsa Phindile Nkosi & Johane Dikgang, 2021. "South African Attitudes About Nuclear Power: The Case of the Nuclear Energy Expansion," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(5), pages 138-146.
    17. Alison Martins Meurer & Cristina Viana de Jesus & Luiz Panhoca, 2021. "Environmental Responsibility, Psychological Distance, and Environmental Consumption: Mediation in Accounting Students," RAC - Revista de Administração Contemporânea (Journal of Contemporary Administration), ANPAD - Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Administração, vol. 25(4), pages 190223-1902.
    18. Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo & Francisco Manuel Moreno-Pino & Daniel Romero-Portillo & Bárbara Sureda, 2021. "Education for Sustainable Development in Spanish University Education Degrees," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-24, January.
    19. Yiannis Georgiou & Eleni A. Kyza, 2023. "Fostering Chemistry Students’ Scientific Literacy for Responsible Citizenship through Socio-Scientific Inquiry-Based Learning (SSIBL)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-21, April.
    20. Wei Qi & Xiumei Guo & Xia Wu & Dora Marinova & Jin Fan, 2018. "Do the sunk cost effect and cognitive dissonance increase risk perception? An empirical study in the context of city smog," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(5), pages 2269-2289, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:6:p:3338-:d:769716. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.