Crookes, Annie E. and Warren, Meg A. and Meyer, Sierra (2022) When threat is imminent, does character matter for climate action? Exploring environmental concerns well - being and character strengths in the Pacific Island Countries. South African Journal of Psychology, 52 (4). NA. ISSN 0081-2463
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Pacific Island Countries are particularly vulnerable to the environmental and economic consequences of climate change including both direct and indirect impacts on individuals’ mental health. There is a need to better understand the links between environmental attitudes, pro-environmental behaviours, and well-being in this region and to develop cost-effective, culturally informed interventions. The present study explored the level of environmental concerns and attitudes among Pacific Island university students and how this relates to their overall well-being, the nature of their current pro-environmental actions, and the potential for individuals’ character strengths to predict pro-environmental attitudes. College students (n = 269) from six Pacific Island Countries completed a survey measuring their character strengths, well-being, and environmental support. As expected, the young adults had very high levels of concern about environmental threats, and this was related to their overall well-being. The young adults felt a personal responsibility to protect the environments around their local communities, which suggests national climate change strategies should be embedded within this localised context. Character strengths were highly valued among the Pacific Island sample and showed some association with (specifically) support for environmental actions and policies. Given the high levels of environmental concern in the sample, the character strengths approach likely provides a bridge between emotional engagement and active allyship in some individuals. Therefore, further research should investigate the role of character strengths in empowering pacific students to play a more leading role in policy change.
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences H Social Sciences > HM Sociology |
| Divisions: | School of Law and Social Sciences (SoLaSS) |
| Depositing User: | Ms Shalni Sanjana |
| Date Deposited: | 12 Sep 2023 23:32 |
| Last Modified: | 12 Sep 2023 23:32 |
| URI: | https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/14180 |
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