Relationship of Sustainable Behavior, World-Mindedness, National and Global Identities, Perceived Environmental Risk and Globalization Impact Among College Students in the United States

Abstract

Purpose This study examined the relationship of world-minded value orientation, national and global identities, perceived environmental risk and impact of globalization to self-reported sustainable behavior Methods The sample was composed of 298 college students from an ethnically diverse mid-size private university in California (United States). The variables that were examined as possible predictors of self-reported sustainable behavior were: world-minded value orientation, global-human and national sense of belonging/identity, perceived environmental risk, and globalization impact in general and on one’s country. The internal consistency of the measures used to assess the seven variables ranged from 0.73 to 0.83. Results The strongest predictors of greater self-reported sustainable behavior were perceived positive general globalization impact and greater perceived environmental risk, followed by a stronger sense of national belonging/identity and global belonging/identity. There were notable relationships among the predictor variables: 1) National and global belonging/identities were moderately correlated suggesting their co-extensive nature rather than polarization, 2) More positive impact of globalization in general and on one’s country were positively correlated, 3) Stronger world-minded value orientation was related to a stronger sense of global belonging/identity, and 4) Stronger sense of global belonging/identity was associated with higher perceived environmental risk. Conclusion The results are discussed in the context of the superordinate goal theory.