TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluating climate change behaviors and concern in the family context
AU - Lawson, Danielle F.
AU - Stevenson, Kathryn T.
AU - Peterson, M. Nils
AU - Carrier, Sarah J.
AU - Seekamp, Erin
AU - Strnad, Renee
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Although research suggests that family dynamics likely play a role in shaping children’s behaviors, few studies focus on environmental behaviors, and none to our knowledge investigate how parents shape climate change mitigation behaviors among their children. We begin to fill this gap through a quantitative case study using matched household-level survey data from 182 coastal North Carolina families (n = 241 parents aged 29–77; n = 182 students aged 11–14) associated with 15 middle school science teachers. Family climate change discussions, parent behaviors, and children’s climate change concern levels predicted the degree to which children will participate in individual-level climate mitigation behaviors. These results provide evidence that promoting climate-related conversations within households may promote climate action even when parents are apathetic about climate change. Similarly, parental behaviors, but not their concern levels, were important predictors of adolescent behaviors. This study highlights novel ways that family dynamics may promote climate change mitigating behaviors and a new pathway to promoting climate mitigation at familial, and ultimately, societal levels.
AB - Although research suggests that family dynamics likely play a role in shaping children’s behaviors, few studies focus on environmental behaviors, and none to our knowledge investigate how parents shape climate change mitigation behaviors among their children. We begin to fill this gap through a quantitative case study using matched household-level survey data from 182 coastal North Carolina families (n = 241 parents aged 29–77; n = 182 students aged 11–14) associated with 15 middle school science teachers. Family climate change discussions, parent behaviors, and children’s climate change concern levels predicted the degree to which children will participate in individual-level climate mitigation behaviors. These results provide evidence that promoting climate-related conversations within households may promote climate action even when parents are apathetic about climate change. Similarly, parental behaviors, but not their concern levels, were important predictors of adolescent behaviors. This study highlights novel ways that family dynamics may promote climate change mitigating behaviors and a new pathway to promoting climate mitigation at familial, and ultimately, societal levels.
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U2 - 10.1080/13504622.2018.1564248
DO - 10.1080/13504622.2018.1564248
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85060352782
SN - 1350-4622
VL - 25
SP - 678
EP - 690
JO - Environmental Education Research
JF - Environmental Education Research
IS - 5
ER -