University of Twente Student Theses
How do coping styles influence the relationship between eco-guilt and pro-environmental behaviour?
Wilborts, V.G. (2024) How do coping styles influence the relationship between eco-guilt and pro-environmental behaviour?
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| Abstract: | Climate change poses significant challenges to the planet and directly and indirectly affects human health. The stressors of climate change trigger emotional responses like eco-guilt, which is defined as feeling guilty about not meeting environmental standards. People employ different coping styles to deal with these emotional responses, categorized into active/adaptive and avoidant/maladaptive coping. This paper examines the predictive power of eco-guilt on the level of pro-environmental behaviour and how adaptive or maladaptive coping could influence this relationship. This study employed a cross-sectional study design, using self-report questionnaires distributed by convenience and snowball sampling. The final sample of 111 participants contained predominantly Dutch and German students. Analyzing the data involved preparing and cleaning the dataset in RStudio, followed by calculating descriptive statistics, correlations, ANOVAs, and regressions. The study found a significant positive effect of eco-guilt on pro-environmental behaviour, suggesting that eco-guilt likely motivates individuals to act more sustainable. However, coping styles did not appear to moderate this relationship, but active/adaptive coping is shown to be associated with higher levels of pro-environmental behaviour. Future research should explore these dynamics more in-depth, using longitudinal or experimental designs. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 43 environmental science, 70 social sciences in general, 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology BSc (56604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/100262 |
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