Title |
The impact of parenthood on environmental attitudes and behaviour: a longitudinal investigation of the legacy hypothesis
|
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Published in |
Population and Environment, December 2017
|
DOI | 10.1007/s11111-017-0291-1 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Gregory O. Thomas, Rose Fisher, Lorraine Whitmarsh, Taciano L. Milfont, Wouter Poortinga |
Abstract |
Willingness to engage in sustainable actions may be limited by the psychological distance of climate change. In this study, we test the legacy hypothesis, which holds that having children leads parents to consider the legacy left to offspring in respect of environmental quality. Using the Understanding Society dataset, a longitudinal survey representative of the UK population (n = 18,176), we assess how having children may change people's individual environmental attitudes and behaviour. Results indicate that having a new child is associated with a small decrease in the frequency of a few environmental behaviours. Only parents with already high environmental concern show a small increase in the desire to act more sustainably after the birth of their first child. Overall, the results do not provide evidence in support of the legacy hypothesis in terms of individual-level environmental attitudes and behaviours. We argue that the transition to parenthood is a time where concern is prioritised on the immediate wellbeing of the child and not on the future environmental threats. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 17 | 18% |
Germany | 11 | 12% |
United States | 5 | 5% |
Australia | 4 | 4% |
Spain | 3 | 3% |
India | 2 | 2% |
Denmark | 2 | 2% |
Netherlands | 1 | 1% |
Mexico | 1 | 1% |
Other | 4 | 4% |
Unknown | 44 | 47% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 70 | 74% |
Scientists | 14 | 15% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 6 | 6% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 4 | 4% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Unknown | 154 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Master | 25 | 16% |
Student > Bachelor | 14 | 9% |
Researcher | 12 | 8% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 11 | 7% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 9 | 6% |
Other | 29 | 19% |
Unknown | 54 | 35% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Social Sciences | 27 | 18% |
Psychology | 23 | 15% |
Environmental Science | 9 | 6% |
Business, Management and Accounting | 8 | 5% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 5 | 3% |
Other | 18 | 12% |
Unknown | 64 | 42% |