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Predicting Pro-Environmental Behaviours in the Public Sphere: Comparing the Influence of Social Anxiety, Self-Efficacy, Global Warming Awareness and the NEP

Author

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  • Ankica Kosic

    (Faculty of Medicine & Psychology, Sapienza-University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy)

  • Paola Passafaro

    (Faculty of Medicine & Psychology, Sapienza-University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy)

  • Martina Molinari

    (Faculty of Medicine & Psychology, Sapienza-University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

Environmental sustainability depends highly on our ability to identify the determinants of various types of pro-environmental behaviours (PEBs). However, so far, public sphere pro-environmental behaviours (PBS-PEBs) have received little attention in the scientific literature. This paper aims thus to fill this gap by exploring the role of dispositional (i.e., social anxiety and self-efficacy) and social psychological factors (i.e., environmental concern and global warming awareness) in the prediction of PBS-PEBs. An online questionnaire, including measures of these factors, was administered to residents (N = 199) of various Italian cities. The results indicated that (1) dispositional social anxiety (but not self-efficacy) directly (and negatively) predicts PBS-PEBs and that its effect is comparable to that of the social psychological factors considered (environmental concern and global warming awareness); (2) global warming awareness (positively) predicts PBS-PEBs directly, while (3) environmental concern, measured through the NEP scale, does it indirectly. Implications of the results for modelling the role of dispositional anxiety, environmental concern and global warming awareness in studies on PBS-PEBs are briefly outlined.

Suggested Citation

  • Ankica Kosic & Paola Passafaro & Martina Molinari, 2024. "Predicting Pro-Environmental Behaviours in the Public Sphere: Comparing the Influence of Social Anxiety, Self-Efficacy, Global Warming Awareness and the NEP," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-14, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:19:p:8716-:d:1495029
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anastasia Gkargkavouzi & George Halkos & Steriani Matsiori, 2019. "A Multi-dimensional Measure of Environmental Behavior: Exploring the Predictive Power of Connectedness to Nature, Ecological Worldview and Environmental Concern," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(2), pages 859-879, June.
    2. Bernadette von Dawans & Amalie Trueg & Clemens Kirschbaum & Urs Fischbacher & Markus Heinrichs, 2018. "Acute social and physical stress interact to influence social behavior: The role of social anxiety," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(10), pages 1-21, October.
    3. Yi-Te Chiang & Wei-Ta Fang & Ulas Kaplan & Eric Ng, 2019. "Locus of Control: The Mediation Effect between Emotional Stability and Pro-Environmental Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-14, February.
    4. A. M. Valkengoed & G. Perlaviciute & L. Steg, 2022. "Relationships between climate change perceptions and climate adaptation actions: policy support, information seeking, and behaviour," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 171(1), pages 1-20, March.
    5. Olivier Boiral & Nicolas Raineri & David Talbot, 2018. "Managers’ Citizenship Behaviors for the Environment: A Developmental Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 395-409, May.
    6. Matteo Innocenti & Gabriele Santarelli & Gaia Surya Lombardi & Lorenzo Ciabini & Doris Zjalic & Mattia Di Russo & Chiara Cadeddu, 2023. "How Can Climate Change Anxiety Induce Both Pro-Environmental Behaviours and Eco-Paralysis? The Mediating Role of General Self-Efficacy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-10, February.
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