Determination of The Environmental Interest Levels of University Students: Adana Example

Although the seriousness of environmental problems has been revealed by many researchers, the steps towards solution are not enough. It is very important to select the students as the target audience for measuring the perception and awareness levels of the university students, who are the future decision makers, about the environment, and also for the steps to be taken to solve the problems. In this study, it was aimed to measure the level of interest of university students towards the environment with explanatory variables such as behavior, attitude, awareness, participation, risk, self-sacrifice, responsibility towards the environment using questionnaires, and it was compared with the help of socio-demographic variables (gender and income). The study group consists of 649 students between the ages of 18-24 studying at the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences of Çukurova University. According to the findings of the study, the variables of gender, income, risk, responsibility and participation did not affect the level of interest towards the environment; It was found that the variables of awareness, altruism and deduction from the standard of living for the environment affect the level of concern for the environment. The majority of the students argued that measures should be taken against environmental pollution. As a result, although most of the findings are a glimmer of hope for the future, it is suggested that more information and education should be given to young people about the environment.