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The importance of culture in predicting environmental behavior in middle school students on Hawai'i Island.

ABSTRACT: Researchers have investigated the factors that influence environmental behavior for decades. Two often-investigated phenomena, connectedness to nature and self-efficacy, often correlate with environmental behavior, yet researchers rarely analyze those correlations along with underlying cultural factors. We suggest that this is a substantial oversight and hypothesize that cultural factors affect environmental behavior, particularly through an interplay with the connectedness to nature and self-efficacy constructs. To test this hypothesis, we surveyed eighth-grade students on the island of Hawai'i. The instrument included items to assess connectedness to nature and self-efficacy (both frequently measured in environmental behavior studies) and multiple measures of behavior. Most of the behavior measures are commonly used in studies of environmental behavior, and one was developed in collaboration with local partners to reflect more culturally specific modes of environmental behavior. With those partners, we also developed a construct reflecting the relevance of local culture. We explored the relative influence of the more commonly investigated constructs (connectedness to nature, behavioral variables) along with the newer construct (cultural relevance). We found that, when we took those considerations into account, cultural relevance significantly predicted connectedness to nature, self-efficacy, and a commonly used behavioral measure. Our results thus suggest that many models of environmental behavior may be misspecified when they omit critical culture- and ethnicity-related factors. This may be particularly important in contexts with high cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity or in contexts where mainstream Western environmental approaches are non-dominant. Our results emphasize the importance of addressing ethnicity and culture in environmental thought and action.

SUBMITTER: Gould RK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6231625 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The importance of culture in predicting environmental behavior in middle school students on Hawai'i Island.

Gould Rachelle K RK Krymkowski Daniel H DH Ardoin Nicole M NM

PloS one 20181112 11

Researchers have investigated the factors that influence environmental behavior for decades. Two often-investigated phenomena, connectedness to nature and self-efficacy, often correlate with environmental behavior, yet researchers rarely analyze those correlations along with underlying cultural factors. We suggest that this is a substantial oversight and hypothesize that cultural factors affect environmental behavior, particularly through an interplay with the connectedness to nature and self-ef ...[more]

PMID: 30419055

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Kilauea Volcano on the Island of Hawai'i has erupted continuously since 1983, releasing approximately 300-12000metrictons per day of sulfur dioxide (SO2). SO2 interacts with water vapor to produce an acidic haze known locally as "vog". The combination of wind speed and direction, inversion layer height, and local terrain lead to heterogeneous and variable distribution of vog over the island, allowing study of respiratory effects associated with chronic vog exposure. OBJECTIVES:We characterized the distribution and composition of vog over the Island of Hawai'i, and tested the hypotheses that chronic vog exposure (SO2 and acid) is associated with increased asthma prevalence, respiratory symptoms, and reduced pulmonary function in Hawai'i Island schoolchildren. METHODS:We compiled data of volcanic emissions, wind speed, and wind direction over Hawai'i Island since 1992. Community-based researchers then measured 2- to 4-week integrated concentrations of SO2 and fine particulate mass and acidity in 4 exposure zones, from 2002 to 2005, when volcanic SO2 emissions averaged 1600metrictons per day. Concurrently, community researchers recruited schoolchildren in the 4th and 5th grades of 25 schools in the 4 vog exposure zones, to assess determinants of lung health, respiratory symptoms, and asthma prevalence. RESULTS:Environmental data suggested 4 different vog exposure zones with SO2, PM2.5, and particulate acid concentrations (mean±s.d.) as follows: 1) Low (0.3±0.2ppb, 2.5±1.2?g/m(3), 0.6±1.1nmolH+/m(3)), 2) Intermittent (1.6±1.8ppb, 2.8±1.5?g/m(3), 4.0±6.6nmolH+/m(3)), 3) Frequent (10.1±5.2ppb, 4.8±1.9?g/m(3), 4.3±6.7nmolH+/m(3)), and 4) Acid (1.2±0.4ppb, 7.2±2.3?g/m(3), 25.3±17.9nmolH+/m(3)). Participants (1957) in the 4 zones differed in race, prematurity, maternal smoking during pregnancy, environmental tobacco smoke exposure, presence of mold in the home, and physician-diagnosed asthma. Multivariable analysis showed an association between Acid vog exposure and cough and strongly suggested an association with FEV1/FVC <0.8, but not with diagnosis of asthma, or chronic persistent wheeze or bronchitis in the last 12months. CONCLUSIONS:Hawai'i Island's volcanic air pollution can be very acidic, but contains few co-contaminants originating from anthropogenic sources of air pollution. Chronic exposure to acid vog is associated with increased cough and possibly with reduced FEV1/FVC, but not with asthma or bronchitis. Further study is needed to better understand how volcanic air pollution interacts with host and environmental factors to affect respiratory symptoms, lung function, and lung growth, and to determine acute effects of episodes of increased emissions.

Project description:IntroductionThis study aimed to determine current levels of physical activity and sedentary behavior in middle school students on the basis of grade, sex, student attitudes toward physical education, and residence location.MethodsIn 2013, a cross-sectional study of 1793 students aged 12 to 15 years was conducted across eight middle schools in Beijing, China. Four schools were selected from an urban district and another four schools were from a suburban district. Physical activity and sedentary behavior data were collected using the commonly used school-based Chinese version of the China Health and Nutrition Survey.ResultsThe mean age of sampled students was 13.3 ± 1.0 years; 51.5% were boys. Approximately 76.6% of students reported having three 45-minute physical education classes every week. A total of 35.6% students spent ? 1 h/day performing moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during school, and 34.9% spent ? 1 h/day in MVPA outside school time. Approximately half (49.7%) of the students engaged in reading, writing, or drawing for ? 2 h/day, and 42.9% reported screen time for ? 2 h/day. Although boys spent more time engaged in physical activity than girls did, they also spent more time exhibiting sedentary behavior. Each 10-unit increase in attitudes toward physical education was associated with an increased odds of 1.15 (95%CI: 1.09-1.20) for spending more than 1 h/day on MVPA. Students in suburban schools reported engaging in physical activity less when compared with those in urban schools.ConclusionThe majority of our students did not meet the current physical activity recommendations, and about half of the students spent excessive time engaging in sedentary behaviors. Findings from this study highlight a positive association between student attitudes toward physical education and physical activity. Studies are needed to further explore the role of student attitudes toward physical education in promoting physical activity among Chinese students.

Project description:BackgroundAmong millions of people who suffer from schistosomiasis in China, adolescents are at increased risk to be infected. However, there is a lack of theory-guided behavioral prevention intervention programs to protect these adolescents. This study attempted to apply the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) in predicting intentions to engage in protective behaviors against schistosomiasis infection.MethodsThe participants were selected using the stratified cluster sampling method. Survey data were collected using anonymous self-reported questionnaire. The advanced structural equation modeling (SEM) method was utilized to assess the complex relationship among schistosomiasis knowledge, previous risk exposure and protective measures in predicting intentions to engage in protective behavior through the PMT constructs.Principal findingsApproximately 70% of participants reported they were always aware of schistosomiasis before exposure to water with endemic schistosomiasis, 6% of the participants reported frequency of weekly or monthly prior exposure to snail-conditioned water. 74% of participants reported having always engaged in protective behaviors in the past three months. Approximately 7% were unlikely or very unlikely to avoid contact with snail-conditioned water, and to use protective behaviors before exposure. Results from SEM analysis indicated that both schistosomiasis knowledge and prior exposure to schistosomiasis were indirectly related to behavior intentions through intrinsic rewards and self-efficacy; prior protective behaviors were indirectly related to behavior intentions through severity, intrinsic rewards and self-efficacy, while awareness had an indirect relationship with behavior intentions through self-efficacy. Among the seven PMT constructs, severity, intrinsic rewards and self-efficacy were significantly associated with behavior intentions.ConclusionsThe PMT can be used to predict the intention to engage in protective behaviors against schistosomiasis. Schistosomiasis intervention programs should focus on the severity, intrinsic rewards and self-efficacy of protection motivation, and also increase the awareness of infection, and enrich the contents of schistosomiasis education.

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The importance of culture in predicting environmental behavior in middle school students on Hawai'i Island.

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The importance of culture in predicting environmental behavior in middle school students on Hawai'i Island.

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