Children’s Cross-Cultural Environmental Attitudes
and Self-Reported Behaviors

Gary W. Evans
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York

Barbara Juen
University of Innsbruck, Austria

Víctor Corral-Verdugo
University of Sonora, Mexico

José A. Corraliza
University of Madrid, Spain

Florian G. Kaiser
Eindoven University of Technology, The Netherlands

Eindoven University of Technology, The Netherlands

Citation: Evans, Gary W., Barbara Juen, Víctor Corral-Verdugo, José A. Corraliza and Florian G. Kaiser (2007). "Children’s Cross-Cultural Environmental Attitudes and Self-Reported Behaviors." Children, Youth and Environments 17 (4): 128-143. Retrieved [date] from http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye/

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Abstract

This study presents data on the comparison of environmental attitudes and self- reported engagement in environmentally responsible behaviors of young children (6-8 years) from the United States, Austria, Mexico, and Spain.  We employed a well-validated and reliable instrument consisting of multiple game formats, developed to assess these constructs in young children.  U.S. children have less pro-environmental attitudes, but children from all four countries have comparably high levels of environmentally responsible behaviors.  Difficulties in assessing environmental behaviors across a sufficient range of obstacles and effort among young children may explain the nonsignificant environmental behavior findings.

Keywords: environmental attitudes, environmental behaviors