Pro-Environmental Behaviors: Determinants and Obstacles among Italian University Students

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2021-03, Vol.18 (6), p.3306
• Main Authors: Carducci, Annalaura, Fiore, Maria, Azara, Antonio, Bonaccorsi, Guglielmo, Bortoletto, Martina, Caggiano, Giuseppina, Calamusa, Andrea, De Donno, Antonella, De Giglio, Osvalda, Dettori, Marco, Di Giovanni, Pamela, Di Pietro, Angela, Facciolà, Alessio, Federigi, Ileana, Grappasonni, Iolanda, Izzotti, Alberto, Libralato, Giovanni, Lorini, Chiara, Montagna, Maria Teresa, Nicolosi, Liberata Keti, Paladino, Grazia, Palomba, Giacomo, Petrelli, Fabio, Schilirò, Tiziana, Scuri, Stefania, Serio, Francesca, Tesauro, Marina, Verani, Marco, Vinceti, Marco, Violi, Federica, Ferrante, Margherita
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air pollution; Attitude; Attitudes; Barriers; Behavior; Colleges & universities; Cultural heritage; Data analysis; Environmental attitudes; Environmental behavior; Environmental health; Health education; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health literacy; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Humans; Italy; Literacy; Loci; Locus of control; Perceptions; Questionnaires; Risk perception; Sample size; Sociodemographics; Software; Students; Surveys and Questionnaires; Universities; University students
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18063306

The awareness of citizens concerning the health risks caused by environmental pollution is growing, but studies on determinants of pro-environmental behaviors have rarely examined health-related aspects. In this study, we investigated these determinants using data from a large survey among Italian university students (15 Universities: 4778 filled questionnaires). Besides the health-related aspects, represented by environmental health risk perception and functional health literacy, we considered social and demographic characteristics (gender, area of residence, sources of information, trust in institutional and non-institutional subjects, and students' capacity of positive actions, indicated as internal locus of control). The attitudes towards pro-environmental behaviors were positive for more than 70% of students and positively related with health risk perception, internal locus of control, and health literacy. The correspondence between the positive attitudes towards pro-environmental behaviors and the real adoption of such behaviors was approximately 20% for most behaviors, except for the separate collection of waste (60%). Such a discrepancy can be attributable to external obstacles (i.e., lack of time, costs, lack of support). The health-related aspects were linked to the pro-environmental attitudes, but to a lesser extent to pro-environmental behaviors, owing to the complexity of their determinants. However, they should be taken in account in planning education interventions.