Barrera-Hernández Laura Fernanda, Sotelo-Castillo Mirsha Alicia, Echeverría-Castro Sonia Beatriz, Tapia-Fonllem César Octavio
Department of Psychology, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Ciudad Obregón, Mexico.
Department of Psychology and Communication Sciences, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico.
Front Psychol. 2020 Feb 26;11:276. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00276. eCollection 2020.
Given the environmental problems humanity is currently facing, and considering that the future of the planet lies in the hands of children and their actions, research on the determinants of sustainable behaviors in children has become more relevant; nonetheless, studies on this topic focusing on children are scarce. Previous research on adults suggests, in an isolated manner, the relationship between connectedness to nature, the development of behaviors in favor of the environment, and positive results derived from them, such as happiness and well-being. In the present research, connectedness to nature was considered as a determinant of sustainable behaviors, and happiness was considered as a positive consequence of the latter. This research aimed to demonstrate the relationship between these variables in children. Two hundred and ninety-six children with an average age of 10.42 years old participated in the study, in which they responded to a research instrument that measured connectedness to nature, sustainable behaviors (, and ), and happiness. To analyze the relationships between these variables, a model of structural equations was specified and tested. The results revealed a significant relationship between connectedness to nature and sustainable behaviors, which, in turn, impact happiness. This suggests that children who perceive themselves as more connected to nature tend to perform more sustainable behaviors; also, the more pro-ecological, frugal, altruistic, and equitable the children are, the greater their perceived happiness will be. The implications for studying and promoting sustainable behaviors are discussed within the framework of positive psychology.
鉴于人类目前面临的环境问题，并且考虑到地球的未来掌握在儿童及其行动手中，对儿童可持续行为的决定因素的研究变得更加重要；尽管如此，专注于儿童的这一主题的研究却很匮乏。先前针对成年人的研究单独表明了与自然的联系、有利于环境的行为的发展以及由此产生的积极结果（如幸福和福祉）之间的关系。在本研究中，与自然的联系被视为可持续行为的一个决定因素，而幸福被视为后者的一个积极结果。本研究旨在证明儿童中这些变量之间的关系。296名平均年龄为10.42岁的儿童参与了该研究，他们对一份测量与自然的联系、可持续行为（以及）和幸福的研究工具做出了回应。为了分析这些变量之间的关系，构建并测试了一个结构方程模型。结果揭示了与自然的联系和可持续行为之间的显著关系，而可持续行为反过来又会影响幸福。这表明那些认为自己与自然联系更紧密的儿童往往会表现出更多的可持续行为；此外，儿童越具有生态意识、节俭、利他和公平，他们所感受到的幸福就会越大。在积极心理学的框架内讨论了对研究和促进可持续行为的启示。
