Exploring the roles of personality traits and self-efficacy on environmental engagement: a Sri Lankan youth survey

Purpose - Identifying the best predictors of environmental citizenship behavior (ECB) has been a major concern of both researchers and educators aimed at protecting environmental quality and sustain person-environment transactions. This study aims to examine the unique contribution of personality traits and self-efficacy beliefs to the ECB of university youth in Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach - Quantitative research approach used. The internet-based survey method was used to collect data from undergraduates studying at six state universities and two nonstate universities. The measurement items of five personality traits, ECB and academic self-efficacy were adopted on established scales from the literature. Findings - Multiple regression results revealed that the personality traits of extraversion, agreeableness and openness to experience, as well as academic self-efficacy, are significant predictors of ECB. Extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience significantly influenced academic self-efficacy. Model 6 of the PROCESS macro results indicated that academic self-efficacy partially mediated the contribution of extraversion, agreeableness and openness to experience traits to ECB. Practical implications - These findings have broad implications for interventions aimed at enhancing youth environmental behavior. Whereas personality traits represent stable individual characteristics that mostly derive from individual hereditary endowment. Originality/value - The study showed a holistic approach in explaining ECB that combined both personality traits and self-efficacy beliefs, indicating that they are interrelated and should not be treated in isolation.