Validation of the Ecological Behavior Scale in Mexican University Students

Severino, Reyna del Carmen Lara; Domínguez, Juan Pablo Sánchez

doi:10.1590/0102.3772e40502.en

Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Brasil

Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa

Español English

Brasil

Español English

sumário « anterior atual seguinte »

Sumário

Behavioral Sciences • Psic.: Teor. e Pesq. 40 • 2024 • https://doi.org/10.1590/0102.3772e40502.en copy

Validation of the Ecological Behavior Scale in Mexican University Students

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

The current environmental deterioration of ecosystems is unquestionable, even though for some time now work has been done to change the dominant social paradigm that places Nature as a tool at the service of human beings. Environmental psychology proposes that environmental problems are strongly related to human behavior, thus, its studies are oriented to measure behavioral variables. To propose a version of the Ecological Behavior Scale (EBS) for use in Mexican populations, the psychometric properties of the instrument were explored, obtaining as a result an EBS scale of 28 items and three factors, with an overall Cronbach’s alpha of .79.

Keywords:
validation study; behavior; environmental psychology

	ECE Items	Factor
	ECE Items	1	2	3	4	α
Factor 1 (20.048% total explained variance)
Urban cleaning	I avoid throwing papers on the floor.	.595				.770
Energy and water saving	I avoid wasting energy.	.592
Energy and water saving	When I open the refrigerator, I avoid leaving the door open for too long so as not to waste energy.	.576
Energy and water saving	I avoid turning on many electrical appliances at the same time during times of highest energy consumption.	.546
Energy and water saving	I avoid wasting natural resources.	.541
Energy and water saving	When I can I save water.	.525
Urban cleaning saving	When I cannot find a trash can to dispose of paper, I put it in my pocket.	.497
Energy and water saving	I turn off the lamp when I leave the room.	.467
Activism	I avoid eating foods that contain chemicals (preservatives or agrochemicals).	.466
Urban cleaning	I help keep the streets clean.	.428
Urban cleaning	When I cannot find a trash can nearby, I throw the empty cans on the ground.	.352
Activism	I avoid using products manufactured by a company when I know that the company is polluting the environment.	.348
Activism	I avoid buying products made of plastic.	.283
Factor 2 (12.975 % total explained variance)
Activism	I talk about the importance of the environment with people.		.758			.796
Activism	I participate in public protests to defend the environment.		.714
Activism	I do volunteer work for an environmental group.		.688
Activism	I mobilize people for the conservation of public spaces.		.640
Urban cleaning	I collaborate with the preservation of the city where I live.		.541
Activism	I participate in activities that take care of the environment.		.472
Factor 3 (6.818% total explained variance)
Energy and water saving	I leave the faucet running all the time while I take a shower.			.722		.438
Energy and water saving	When I feel like eating something that I do not know what it is, I open the refrigerator and look at what is there.			.589
Energy and water saving	When I am at home, I leave the lamps on in places where they are not needed.			.521
Energy and water saving	I leave the TV on even when no one is watching.			.473
Energy and water saving	While I brush my teeth, I leave the faucet running.			.392
Energy and water saving	While I take a shower, I turn off the faucet to soap up.			.344
Activism	I buy food without worrying if it has preservatives or agrochemicals.			.330
Factor 4 (4.980% total explained variance)
Recycling	I separate trash by type in my house.				.801	.185
Recycling	I separate garbage according to its type.				.708
Recycling	I throw all kinds of garbage in any trash can.				.438

	ECE items	Factor
	ECE items	1	2	3	α
Factor 1 (20.747% total explained variance)
Activism	I participate in public demonstrations to defend the environment.	.775			.836
Recycling	I separate the garbage by type in my house	.754
Recycling	I separate garbage according to its type.	.745
Activism	I do volunteer work for an environmental group.	.707
Urban cleaning	I collaborate with the preservation of the city where I live	.628
Activism	I mobilize people for the conservation of public spaces.	.626
Activism	I talk about the importance of the environment with people.	.546
Activism	I avoid buying products made of plastic.	.438
Activism	I participate in activities that take care of the environment.	.404
Activism	I avoid using products manufactured by a company when I know that the company is polluting the environment.	.373
Activism	I avoid eating foods that contain chemicals (preservatives or agrochemicals).	.320
Factor 2 (13.337% total explained variance)
Urban cleaning	I avoid throwing papers on the floor.		.704		.757
Urban cleaning	I put the paper I do not want in my pocket when I cannot find a trash can nearby.		.659
Energy and water saving	I avoid wasting energy		.610
Energy and water saving	When I open the refrigerator, I avoid leaving the door open for too long so as not to waste energy.		.587
Energy and water saving	I turn off the lamp when I leave the room.		.578
Energy and water saving	When I can I save water.		.567
Energy and water saving	I avoid wasting natural resources.		.537
Urban cleaning	When I cannot find a trash can nearby, I throw the empty cans on the ground		.512
Energy and water saving	I avoid turning on many electrical appliances at the same time during times of highest energy consumption.		.497
Urban cleaning	I help keep the streets clean		.490
Energy and water saving	While I shower, I turn off the faucet to soap up.		403
Factor 3 (6.614% total explained variance)
Energy and water saving	I leave the faucet running all the time while I take a shower.			.712	.660
Energy and water saving	When I feel like eating something that I do not know what it is, I open the refrigerator and look at what is there.			.661
Energy and water saving	When I am at home, I leave the lamps on in places where they are not needed.			.582
Energy and water saving	I leave the TV on even when no one is watching.			.537
Activism	I buy food without worrying if it has preservatives or agrochemicals.			.524
Energy and water saving	While I brush my teeth, I leave the faucet running.			.444

	ECE items	Min.	Max.	Mean	Std. deviation	Variance	Communalities
Núm.	Factor 1
2	I participate in public demonstrations to defend the environment.	1	6	1.912	1.757	1.757	.535
27	I separate the garbage by type in my house	1	6	2.749	1.542	2.380	.586
28	I separate garbage according to its type.	1	6	2.844	1.637	2.682	.560
3	I do volunteer work for an environmental group.	1	6	2.195	1.327	1.762	.448
26	I collaborate with the preservation of the city where I live.	1	6	3.105	1.569	2.462	.533
6	I mobilize people for the conservation of public spaces.	1	6	2.914	1.498	2.246	.426
7	I talk about the importance of the environment with people.	1	6	3.272	1.472	2.167	.442
4	I avoid buying products made of plastic.	1	6	3.171	1.380	1.907	.304
1	I participate in activities that take care of the environment.	1	6	2.974	1.355	1.838	363
9	I avoid using products manufactured by a company when I know that the company is polluting the environment.	1	6	3.135	1.424	2.030	.347
5	I avoid eating foods that contain chemicals (preservatives or agrochemicals).	1	6	3.223	1.536	2.361	.238
	Factor 2
22	I avoid throwing papers on the floor.	1	6	4.876	1.450	2.104	.502
23	I put the paper I do not want in my pocket when I cannot find a trash can nearby.	1	6	4.938	1.383	1.914	.425
12	I avoid wasting energy.	1	6	4.743	1.340	1.796	.475
18	When I open the refrigerator, I avoid leaving the door open for too long so as not to waste energy.	1	6	4.352	1.638	2.684	.268
17	I turn off the lamp when I leave the room.	1	6	4.880	1.442	2.081	.408
15	When I can I save water.	1	6	4.701	1.266	1.603	.403
19	I avoid wasting natural resources.	1	6	4.109	1.493	2.229	.415
24	When I cannot find a trash can nearby, I throw the empty cans on the ground.	1	6	1.721	1.286	1.655	.404
21	I avoid turning on many electrical appliances at the same time during times of highest energy consumption.	1	6	3.737	1.696	2.877	.218
25	I help keep the streets clean	1	6	3.723	1.603	2.572	.428
13	While I shower, I turn off the faucet to soap up.	1	6	4.663	1.704	2.906	.376
	Factor 3
14	I leave the faucet running all the time while I take a shower.	1	6	2.280	1.540	2.374	.514
20	When I feel like eating something that I do not know what it is, I open the refrigerator and look at what is there.	1	6	3.261	1.640	2.640	.365
10	When I am at home, I leave the lamps on in places where they are not needed.	1	6	2.205	1.360	1.852	.451
16	I leave the TV on even when no one is watching.	1	6	2.304	1.562	2.440	.337
8	I buy food without worrying about whether it has preservatives or agrochemicals.	1	6	3.392	1.526	2.331	.249
11	While I brush my teeth, I leave the faucet running.	1	6	1.990	1.451	2.106	.228

Factor 1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	9	26	27	28
1	1
2	.221^**	1
3	.334^**	.565^**	1
4	.326^**	.194^**	.246^**	1
5	.194^**	.107^*	.169^**	.340^**	1
6	.322^**	.430^**	.408^**	.281^**	.154^**	1
7	.414^**	.321^**	.390^**	.299^**	.191^**	.490^**	1
9	.275^**	.221^**	.222^**	.356^**	.357^**	.301^**	.315^**	1
26	.448^**	.317^**	.429^**	.299^**	.273^**	.391^**	.479^**	.292^**	1
27	.209^**	.380^**	.305^**	.279^**	.289^**	.318^**	.248^**	.254^**	.409^**	1
28	.248^**	.386^**	.329^**	.229^**	.278^**	.339^**	.234^**	.272^**	.416^**	.789^**	1
Factor 2
	12	13	15	17	18	19	21	22	23	24	25
12	1
13	.372**	1
15	.510**	.276**	1
17	.467**	.400**	.350**	1
18	.424**	.212**	.388**	.266**	1
19	.404**	.315**	.420**	.336**	.224**	1
21	.314**	.192**	.241**	.220**	.281**	.324**	1
22	.400**	.448**	.374**	.479**	.340**	.390**	.263**	1
23	.344**	.332**	.295**	.314**	.305**	.297**	.199**	.520**	1
24	-.289**	-.306**	-.233**	-.402**	-.245**	-.187**	-.161**	-.481**	-.379**	1
25	.334^**	.212^**	.340^**	.269^**	.196^**	.423^**	.230^**	.360^**	.298^**	-0.165^**	1
Factor 3
	8	10	11	14	16	20
8	1
10	.192**	1
11	.037	.314**	1
14	.178**	.388**	.411**	1
16	.158**	.369**	.293**	.302**	1
20	.180**	.296**	.223**	.362**	.239**	1

Instituto de Psicologia, Universidade de Brasília Instituto de Psicologia, Universidade de Brasília, 70910-900 - Brasília - DF - Brazil, Tel./Fax: (061) 274-6455 - Brasília - DF - Brazil
E-mail: revistaptp@gmail.com

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

[1] Corresponding author
jsanchez@pampano.unacar.mx