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Effects of attitudinal and sociodemographic factors on pro-environmental behaviour in urban China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 January 2011

XIAODONG CHEN ,
M. NILS PETERSON ,
VANESSA HULL ,
CHUNTIAN LU ,
GRAISE D. LEE ,
DAYONG HONG  and
JIANGUO LIU
XIAODONG CHEN*
Affiliation:
Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA
M. NILS PETERSON
Affiliation:
Fisheries and Wildlife Program, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Box 7646, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
VANESSA HULL
Affiliation:
Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA
CHUNTIAN LU
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA
GRAISE D. LEE
Affiliation:
Fisheries and Wildlife Program, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Box 7646, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
DAYONG HONG
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China
JIANGUO LIU
Affiliation:
Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA
*
*Correspondence: Dr Xiaodong Chen e-mail: chenxia2@msu.edu
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Summary

China currently faces severe environmental challenges, and information regarding the predictors of pro-environmental behaviour in China is needed to manage them. This study addresses this need by modelling the sociodemographic and attitudinal factors predicting pro-environmental behaviour in urban China. Pro-environmental behaviour was modelled as a function of environmental attitude (measured using the new environmental paradigm) and various sociodemographic characteristics. Respondents who were employed, holding leadership positions, living in larger cities and single were more likely to participate in pro-environmental behaviour. These results accord with previous studies suggesting being female, younger, highly educated and having environmentally oriented attitudes increased the odds of participating in pro-environmental behaviour. The rapid urbanization and economic development in China may significantly impact pro-environmental behaviour in the future.

Keywords

Chinaenvironmental attitudenew environmental paradigmodds ratiopro-environmental behaviour
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 38 , Issue 1 , March 2011 , pp. 45 - 52
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2011

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