Nature connectedness, parental pro-environmental behavior, and emotional factors are associated with adolescents’ moral responsibility for climate changeThis study aimed to identify factors associated with late adolescents’ sense of moral responsibility for climate change. The study is based on the understanding that late adolescence is a crucial stage for developing moral responsibility, which may shape both present and future pro-environmental engagement. To better understand how young people relate to the climate crisis, the study examined both social-ecological and emotional factors associated with moral responsibility. Specifically, it investigated how adolescents’ connectedness to nature and their parents’ climate-related behavior relate to their sense of moral responsibility, as well as how emotional factors, including macro climate-change worry and distancing as a coping strategy, may be associated with moral responsibility. In the context of climate change, macro worry refers to concerns about the effects of climate change on people in more vulnerable countries, future generations, and nature, while distancing may serve as a self-protective strategy for coping with these emotional impacts. Finally, the study examined whether these associations differed by gender.
Participants for the study were recruited from high schools in central and southern Sweden. Online surveys were administered to the high school students (age 16–19) during regular school hours. Completed surveys were obtained from 578 adolescents (40.5% boys, 59.5% girls). The surveys assessed: (1) nature connectedness with the Nature Connectedness Index; (2) parental descriptive norms (adolescents’ perception of their parents' pro-environmental behaviors); (3) macro climate change worry (e.g., “I worry that future generations will be negatively affected by the climate crisis”); (4) distancing coping (e.g., “I do something else in order not to have to think about all the problems associated with climate change”); and (5) moral responsibility regarding climate change issues (e.g., “I have a moral responsibility to contribute to improving climate change issues”). Statistical analysis examined the relationships among adolescents’ nature connectedness, parental descriptive norms, macro climate change worry, distancing coping, and moral responsibility for climate change.
Overall, adolescents reported moderate levels of nature connectedness, parental pro-environmental behaviors, macro climate change worry, and moral responsibility for climate change, and low levels of distancing coping. Higher levels of nature connectedness, parental descriptive norms, and macro climate change worry were significantly associated with greater moral responsibility for climate change. Distancing from climate-related worry and moral responsibility were also linked, although this relationship was marginally significant. Analysis indicated that all four of these factors (nature connectedness, parental pro-environmental behaviors, macro climate change worry, and distancing from climate-related worry) explained 58% of the variance in moral responsibility. The associations between moral responsibility and nature connectedness, macro climate change worry, and distancing coping did not significantly differ between boys and girls. However, among boys, moral responsibility was more strongly linked to their parents’ norms than it was among girls.
Analysis also revealed two indirect relationships. First, higher nature connectedness was associated with greater macro climate change worry, which was in turn associated with higher moral responsibility. This indirect relationship accounted for 53% of the total relationship between nature connectedness and moral responsibility. The influence of macro climate change worry on the relationship between nature connectedness and moral responsibility was stronger for girls, although this finding was marginally significant. Second, macro climate change worry also partially explained the link between parental descriptive norms and moral responsibility. Macro climate change worry accounted for 50% of the association between parental norms and moral responsibility, with no differences between boys and girls. Finally, distancing coping did not significantly influence the relationship between macro climate change worry and moral responsibility for either boys or girls. This suggests that distancing coping does not alter the relationship between macro climate change worry and moral responsibility.
Findings suggest that connectedness to nature and parental descriptive norms may be important contributors to adolescents’ moral responsibility regarding climate change. Importantly, the study revealed that “young people’s sense of moral responsibility tended to be higher the more connected they felt to nature, the more they perceived that their parents behaved pro-environmentally, the more they worried about others being affected by climate change, and the more they coped with their worry by using distancing.” Boys’ moral responsibility appeared to be more closely associated with parental norms, whereas girls’ responsibility appeared to be more strongly associated with climate change worry. The researchers suggest that climate change worry may serve as a constructive emotion linking nature connectedness and perceived parental norms with greater moral responsibility, although further research is needed to clarify this role. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of fostering adolescents’ connection with nature and recognizing the role parents may play in shaping young people’s engagement with environmental issues.
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