IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i6p3520-d773081.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is Outdoor Recreation Associated with Greater Climate Change Concern in the United States?

Author

Listed:
  • Kyle W. Knight

    (Department of Sociology, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899, USA)

  • Feng Hao

    (Department of Sociology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA)

Abstract

There has been extensive research on the association between environmental attitudes and outdoor recreation (or nature-based leisure activities) since the 1970s. There is now considerable evidence to support the claim that spending time in nature leads to greater connectedness to nature and thereby greater pro-environmental attitudes and behavior. However, there is an absence of research focused specifically on the association between outdoor recreation and concern for climate change, which is arguably the most pressing environmental problem facing the world today. We build on previous research by using the 2021 General Social Survey and structural equation modeling to analyze the association between frequency of engaging in outdoor recreation and concern for climate change among adults in the United States, with special attention to the role of enjoying being in nature. Controlling for other factors, we find that frequency of outdoor recreation has a positive, significant effect on climate change concern, but only indirectly via enjoyment of nature. Individuals who more frequently engage in outdoor recreation activities tend to report a greater sense of enjoyment of being outside in nature, and this enjoyment of nature is associated with a higher level of concern for climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Kyle W. Knight & Feng Hao, 2022. "Is Outdoor Recreation Associated with Greater Climate Change Concern in the United States?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-8, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:6:p:3520-:d:773081
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/6/3520/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/6/3520/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wanyun Shao & Feng Hao, 2020. "Approval of political leaders can slant evaluation of political issues: evidence from public concern for climate change in the USA," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 158(2), pages 201-212, January.
    2. George Cunningham & Brian P. McCullough & Shelby Hohensee, 2020. "Physical activity and climate change attitudes," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 61-74, March.
    3. Alan C. Acock, 2013. "Discovering Structural Equation Modeling Using Stata," Stata Press books, StataCorp LP, number dsemus, March.
    4. Paul M. Kellstedt & Sammy Zahran & Arnold Vedlitz, 2008. "Personal Efficacy, the Information Environment, and Attitudes Toward Global Warming and Climate Change in the United States," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 113-126, February.
    5. B. Derrick Taff & William L. Rice & Ben Lawhon & Peter Newman, 2021. "Who Started, Stopped, and Continued Participating in Outdoor Recreation during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States? Results from a National Panel Study," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-9, December.
    6. Daniel Driscoll, 2019. "Assessing Sociodemographic Predictors of Climate Change Concern, 1994–2016," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 100(5), pages 1699-1708, August.
    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. Shao, Wanyun & Hao, Feng, 2020. "Confidence in political leaders can slant risk perceptions of COVID–19 in a highly polarized environment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    2. Zhihui Wang & Liangzhen Nie & Eila Jeronen & Lihua Xu & Meiai Chen, 2023. "Understanding the Environmentally Sustainable Behavior of Chinese University Students as Tourists: An Integrative Framework," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-17, February.
    3. Walter Leal Filho & Mark Mifsud & Petra Molthan-Hill & Gustavo J. Nagy & Lucas Veiga Ávila & Amanda Lange Salvia, 2019. "Climate Change Scepticism at Universities: A Global Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-13, May.
    4. Janina Isabel Steinert & Lucie Dale Cluver & G. J. Melendez-Torres & Sebastian Vollmer, 2018. "One Size Fits All? The Validity of a Composite Poverty Index Across Urban and Rural Households in South Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 51-72, February.
    5. Sejung Park, 2020. "How Celebrities’ Green Messages on Twitter Influence Public Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions to Mitigate Climate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-22, September.
    6. Veysel Yilmaz & Pınar Guleç & Erkan Ari, 2023. "Impact of climate change information of university students in Turkey on responsibility and environmental behavior through awareness and perceived risk," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 7281-7297, July.
    7. Hye Kyung Kim & Yungwook Kim, 2019. "Risk Information Seeking and Processing About Particulate Air Pollution in South Korea: The Roles of Cultural Worldview," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(5), pages 1071-1087, May.
    8. József Kádár & Martina Pilloni & Tareq Abu Hamed, 2023. "A Survey of Renewable Energy, Climate Change, and Policy Awareness in Israel: The Long Path for Citizen Participation in the National Renewable Energy Transition," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-16, February.
    9. Dehghani, Milad & William Kennedy, Ryan & Mashatan, Atefeh & Rese, Alexandra & Karavidas, Dionysios, 2022. "High interest, low adoption. A mixed-method investigation into the factors influencing organisational adoption of blockchain technology," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 393-411.
    10. George B. Cunningham & Pamela Wicker & Brian P. McCullough, 2020. "Pollution, Health, and the Moderating Role of Physical Activity Opportunities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-15, August.
    11. Mateusz Ciski & Krzysztof Rząsa, 2023. "Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression in the Investigation of Local COVID-19 Anomalies Based on Population Age Structure in Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-23, May.
    12. Yingzhu Yang & Lexiang Zhao & Feng Cui, 2022. "How Does Public Health Investment Affect Subjective Well-Being? Empirical Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-19, April.
    13. Meral Ugur-Cinar & Kursat Cinar & Tekin Kose, 2020. "How Does Education Affect Political Trust?: An Analysis of Moderating Factors," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 152(2), pages 779-808, November.
    14. d'Errico, Marco & Di Giuseppe, Stefania, 2018. "Resilience mobility in Uganda: A dynamic analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 78-96.
    15. Eric Plutzer & A. Lee Hannah, 2018. "Teaching climate change in middle schools and high schools: investigating STEM education’s deficit model," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 305-317, August.
    16. Kauder, Björn & Potrafke, Niklas & Ursprung, Heinrich, 2018. "Behavioral determinants of proclaimed support for environment protection policies," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 26-41.
    17. Xiaohui Hou & Bo Wang & Yu Gao, 2020. "Stakeholder Protection, Public Trust, and Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Listed SMEs in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-25, July.
    18. Wanyun Shao & Feng Hao, 2020. "Approval of political leaders can slant evaluation of political issues: evidence from public concern for climate change in the USA," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 158(2), pages 201-212, January.
    19. Egamberdiev, Bekhzod, 2024. "Social capital effects on resilience to food insecurity: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 36(1), pages 435-450.
    20. Desalegn A. Gugissa & Paul T.M. Ingenbleek & Hans C.M. van Trijp & Mebrahtu L. Teklehaimanot & Workneh K. Tessema, 2021. "When natural resources run out, market knowledge steps in: Lessons on natural resource deployment from a longitudinal study in a resource‐scarce region of Ethiopia," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1598-1609, May.

    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:3520-:d:773081. 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.