This study examined the role of parenting styles in influencing adolescents' motivation to engage in pro-environmental behavior. While previous research indicates that parents' behavior and family norms exert a significant influence on young people's pro-environmental attitudes and behavior, little is known about the role of parenting styles in this regard.
This investigation draws from two distinct but related strands of research: self-determination theory (SDT) related to pro-environmental behavior and socialization theory related to pro-social behavior. SDT includes the understanding that motivation is a multifaceted antecedent of behavior based on different levels of self-determination. Socialization theory includes the assumption that, while children find some pro-social behaviors intrinsically rewarding, children's engagement in other pro-social behaviors is highly influenced by the way parents structure the environment. Both SDT and socialization theory suggest that parenting styles supporting autonomy are more effective than a controlling style in promoting children's autonomous motivation. Children whose parents support autonomy tend to be more self-motivated, with their actions being more intrinsically versus extrinsically motivated.
The study was conducted in Denmark with 448 parent/adolescent dyads participating. The parents and adolescents individually completed an online questionnaire that included the Motivation Toward the Environment Scale which measures six motivational types proposed by SDT. The adolescent questionnaire also included (1) a Perception of Parenting Styles Scale which measures perceived autonomy support and (2) questions about their perceptions of their parents' participation in three pro-environmental household activities: curtailing electricity use, buying environmentally friendly products, and sorting waste for recycling.
Findings indicated, as expected, that the adolescents were less intrinsically motivated to 'do things for the environment' than their parents. However, their motivation to act in pro-environmental ways was rooted in family descriptive norms and linked to their parents' internalized motivation to act pro-environmentally. An autonomy-supporting parenting style and structure in the home also played a significant role for adolescents' motivation to act in pro-environmental ways.
This research strongly supports “parenting for sustainability” and suggests that related efforts will be more effective if the parents' expectations about desired behaviors are communicated in a way that facilitates choice and agency.
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