Relationship between Socioeconomic Status and Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Role of Efficacy Beliefs

Efficacy beliefs are important determinants of human behavior. In the context of social cognitive theory, the perception of collective efficacy is closely related to the individual perception of self-efficacy, which is influenced by socio-structural factors such as socioeconomic status (SES). Surpri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social sciences (Basel) 2024-05, Vol.13 (5), p.273
Main Authors: Vrselja, Ivana, Batinić, Lana, Pandžić, Mario
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bandura, Albert
Behavior
Behavior modification
Climate change
Climatic changes
Cognition
collective efficacy
Cross-sectional studies
Education
Environmental sustainability
Environmentalism
Family income
Human acts
Human behavior
Mediation
Objectives
Perceptions
pro-environmental behavior
Self-efficacy
SES
Social aspects
Social classes
Social identity
Society
Socioeconomic factors
Socioeconomic status
Standard of living
Structural equation modeling
Sustainable development
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Summary:Efficacy beliefs are important determinants of human behavior. In the context of social cognitive theory, the perception of collective efficacy is closely related to the individual perception of self-efficacy, which is influenced by socio-structural factors such as socioeconomic status (SES). Surprisingly, the relationship between these variables has received little attention in the literature on environmental issues. Within the framework of social cognitive theory, the aim of this study was to investigate whether SES has a direct effect on pro-environmental behavior and whether it has an indirect effect via perceptions of self-efficacy and collective efficacy, in relation to climate change mitigation behavior. An online cross-sectional study was conducted using a quota sample of 1075 participants (51.9% women) aged 18–79 years. Participants reported their SES using objective and subjective measures, perceptions of their own and collective efficacy in mitigating climate change, and the frequency of their pro-environmental behaviors. Structural equation modeling revealed that the model with serial mediation effects of self-efficacy and collective efficacy between SES (both objective and subjective) and pro-environmental behaviors showed a good model fit. As expected, both objective and subjective SES had no direct effect on pro-environmental behavior. Surprisingly, neither objective nor subjective SES had an indirect effect (via efficacy beliefs) on pro-environmental behavior. However, both self-efficacy and collective efficacy were associated with pro-environmental behavior. These findings have practical implications for the development of strategies aimed at enhancing pro-environmental behavior.
ISSN:2076-0760
2076-0760
DOI:10.3390/socsci13050273