The Effects of Demographic Variables on Students' Responsible Environmental Behaviors

Abstract

Abstract The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of university students’ background variables (gender, age, grade and natu re experience) on their responsible environmental behaviors. A total number of 307 students (134 females, 173 males) enrolled in various departments of Akdeniz University constituted the sample of the study. University Students’ Responsible Environmental Behavior Scale (USREBS) developed by the authors was used for this investigation. USREBS included 33 items on a six point Likert type scale (never to always) and consisted of seven sub-dimensions with acceptable reliability coefficient values (political behavior – α = .91, warning behavior – α = .84; legal behavior – α = .84; recycling behavior – α = .72; physical protection behavior – α = .69; saving behavior – α =.76 and persuasion – α = .86). Separate MANOVA analyses revealed that university students’ responsible environmental behaviors significantly varied across gender, grade, reading nature-related publications and participation in nature-related activities. These statistically significant results suggested that female students and those who followed nature related publications (e.g. books, journals, magazines) and frequently participated in nature related-activities engaged in responsible behaviors more than those who didn’t to protect the environment and prevent the environmental problems.