Ecological Values and Attitudes of Students as Indicators of Environmental Identity

The rapidly evolving environmental landscape and the emergence of numerous adverse factors impact the state of natural objects and ecosystems and give rise to environmentally induced human health impairments. As a distinct social group, youth exhibit specific characteristics in their ecological culture, including a low level of environmental interest, instability in ecological beliefs and perspectives, a broad spectrum of social and cultural interests, a multitude of social values coupled with high mobility, activity, a drive for success, nihilism, and other traits. In the Chuvash Republic, a multinational region, trends toward preserving folk traditions, customs, and religious norms are prominent, which also contribute to the formation of a positive type of environmental consciousness and the environmental identity of the society. However, among the youth, modern technologies, technical tools, information and communication resources, innovations, informational influences, opportunities to interact with large numbers of people, and the accessibility of information and communication have begun to supplant the older generation’s efforts to preserve the uniqueness of ethnic groups and centuries-old traditions. This shift represents one of the risks of losing environmental identity. This research aims to elucidate the characteristics and current state of the development of students’ ecological values and attitudes to assess the environmental identity of youth. The research model was tested through a questionnaire administered to 440 students from three universities in the Chuvash Republic. The authors analyzed the results concerning ecological attitudes and values, their levels of development, and the relationships between them to assess the characteristics of the environmental identity of students in a specific region of Russia. The authors examined indicators that enable the assessment of the level of environmental consciousness and a positive attitude toward the surrounding natural environment. Conclusions were drawn regarding the differences in these indicators among students of different ages.