Climate Change Perception and Sustainable Behaviors: A Cross-Sectional Study in Southern Italy
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Setting and Participants
2.2. Data Collection
2.3. Questionnaire
2.4. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Attitudes About Climate Change
3.2. Behaviors About Climate Change
3.3. Sources of Information
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Characteristics | Total (n. 765) | Being Concerned About Climate Change | Believing That Heat Waves Will Negatively Affect Future Generations | Believing That Climate Change Will Negatively Affect Future Generations, Them Personally and Italian Population | Assuming Behaviours Which Mitigate the Impact of Climate Change | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Not at All/a Little/Somewhat (N: 16,621.9%) | A Lot (N: 19,625.9%) | Extremely (N: 39,452.1%) | Not at All/a Little/Somewhat (N: 10,213.5%) | A Lot (N: 14,318.9%) | Extremely (N: 51,167.6%) | Not at All/a Little/Somewhat/a Lot (N: 51,467.9%) | Extremely (N: 24,332.1%) | Never/Rarely/Sometimes/Often (N: 49,665.5%) | Always (N: 26,134.5%) | |||
Socio-Demographic | N | % | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) |
Gender (760) * | ||||||||||||
Male | 165 | 21.7 | 36 (21.9) | 56 (28.6) | 71 (18.1) | 28 (27.7) | 41 (28.7) | 94 (18.5) | 125 (24.4) | 38 (15.7) | 117 (23.7) | 46 (17.7) |
Female | 595 | 78.3 | 128 (78.1) | 140 (71.4) | 321 (81.9) | 73 (72.3) | 102 (71.3) | 414 (81.5) | 387 (75.6) | 203 (84.3) | 376 (76.3) | 214 (82.3) |
x2 = 8.43, df = 2, p = 0.015 | x2 = 9.31, df = 2, p = 0.010 | x2 = 7.22, df = 1, p = 0.007 | x2 = 3.66, df = 1, p = 0.056 | |||||||||
Age (in years) | 47.3 ± 5.6 (28–78) a | ANOVA-test (742) = 0.061, p = 0.128 | ANOVA-test (742) = 0.052, p = 0.372 | t-test (743) = 0.118, p = 0.906 | t-test (743) = 0.057, p = 0.954 | |||||||
≤40 | 73 | 9.8 | 23 (14.2) | 18 (9.2) | 32 (8.3) | 18 (18.4) | 14 (10) | 40 (7.9) | 53 (10.5) | 20 (8.3) | 47 (9.7) | 26 (10) |
41–50 | 472 | 63.1 | 98 (60.5) | 130 (66.7) | 240 (62.3) | 53 (54.1) | 90(64.3) | 326 (64.7) | 315 (62.6) | 154 (64.2) | 309 (63.9) | 160 (61.5) |
>50 | 203 | 27.1 | 41 (25.3) | 47 (24.1) | 113 (29.4) | 27 (27.5) | 36 (25.7) | 138 (27.4) | 135 (26.8) | 66(27.5) | 127 (26.3) | 74 (28.5) |
x2 = 6.28, df = 4, p = 0.179 | x2 = 10.83, df = 4, p = 0.029 | x2 = 0.89, df = 2, p = 0.641 | x2 = 0.47, df = 2, p = 0.793 | |||||||||
Marital status (754) * | ||||||||||||
Unmarried/widowed /divorced | 83 | 11 | 23 (13.9) | 18 (9.2) | 40 (10.4) | 16 (15.8) | 13 (9.3) | 53 (10.5) | 54 (10.6) | 28 (11.7) | 55 (11.3) | 27 (10.4) |
Married/cohabitant | 671 | 89 | 142 (86.1) | 177 (90.8) | 346 (89.6) | 85 (84.2) | 127 (90.7) | 452 (89.5) | 454 (89.4) | 211 (88.3) | 433 (88.7) | 232 (89.6) |
x2 = 2.25, df = 2, p = 0.325 | x2 = 2.97, df = 2, p = 0.226 | x2 = 0.19, df = 1, p = 0.658 | x2 = 0.13, df = 1, p = 0.725 | |||||||||
Educational level (751) * | ||||||||||||
High school | 389 | 51.8 | 99 (60.4) | 81 (41.2) | 204 (52.6) | 59 (58.4) | 70 (49.6) | 255 (50.8) | 265 (52.5) | 120 (50) | 250 (51.3) | 135 (52.3) |
University degree/master/doctoral | 362 | 48.2 | 65 (39.6) | 111 (57.8) | 184 (47.4) | 42 (41.6) | 71 (50.4) | 247 (49.2) | 240 (47.5) | 120 (50) | 237 (48.7) | 123 (47.7) |
x2 = 12.01, df = 2, p = 0.002 | x2 = 2.22, df = 2, p = 0.329 | x2 = 0.39, df = 1, p = 0.528 | x2 = 0.07, df = 1, p = 0.797 | |||||||||
Occupation (742) * | ||||||||||||
Unemployed | 152 | 20.5 | 41 (25.6) | 29 (14.9) | 81 (21.2) | 24 (24.5) | 24 (17.3) | 104 (20.8) | 97 (19.4) | 55 (23.1) | 95 (19.7) | 57 (22.4) |
Employed | 590 | 79.5 | 119 (74.4) | 165 (85.1) | 301 (78.8) | 74 (75.5) | 115 (82.7) | 395 (79.2) | 402 (80.6) | 183 (76.9) | 387 (80.3) | 195 (77.7) |
x2 = 6.36, df = 2, p = 0.042 | x2 = 1.86, df = 2, p = 0.394 | x2 = 1.33, df = 1, p = 0.250 | x2 = 0.71, df = 1, p = 0.399 | |||||||||
Anamnestic | ||||||||||||
Chronic disease (748) * | ||||||||||||
No | 622 | 83.2 | 137 (84.1) | 159 (81.9) | 321 (83.4) | 88 (88) | 123 (89.1) | 405 (80.5) | 426 (84.9) | 191 (79.6) | 404 (83.3) | 213 (82.8) |
At least one | 126 | 16.8 | 26 (15.9) | 35 (18.1) | 64 (16.6) | 12 (12) | 15 (10.9) | 98 (19.5) | 76 (15.1) | 49 (20.4) | 81 (16.7) | 44 (17.1) |
x2 = 0.3, df = 2, p = 0.859 | x2 = 7.68, df = 2, p = 0.021 | x2 = 3.23, df = 1, p = 0.072 | x2 = 0.02, df = 1, p = 0.844 | |||||||||
Familiar with chronic disease (724) * | ||||||||||||
No | 619 | 85.5 | 136 (86.6) | 163 (86.2) | 316 (84.7) | 89 (91.7) | 116 (86.6) | 410 (84) | 420 (86.1) | 196 (84.5) | 391 (83.5) | 225 (89.3) |
At least one | 105 | 14.5 | 21 (13.4) | 26 (13.8) | 57 (15.3) | 8 (8.3) | 18 (13.4) | 78 (16) | 68 (13.9) | 36 (15.5) | 77 (16.5) | 27 (10.7) |
x2 = 0.43, df = 2, p = 0.807 | x2 = 4.16, df = 2, p = 0.132 | x2 = 0.32, df = 1, p = 0.572 | x2 = 4.37, df = 1, p = 0.037 | |||||||||
Number of cohabitants (751) * | 2.9 ± 0.9 (1–7) a | ANOVA-test (745) = 0.011, p = 0.252 | ANOVA-test (745) = 0.009, p = 0.389 | t-test (746) = 0.034, p = 0.973 | t-test (746) = −0.449, p = 0.618 | |||||||
Number of children (761) * | ||||||||||||
One | 161 | 21.2 | 26 (15.8) | 39 (19.9) | 93 (23.6) | 22 (24.6) | 25 (17.6) | 111 (21.8) | 101 (19.7) | 57 (23.5) | 107 (21.6) | 51 (19.6) |
More than one | 600 | 78.8 | 139 (84.2) | 157 (80.1) | 300 (76.3) | 80 (78.4) | 117 (82.4) | 399 (78.2) | 412 (80.3) | 185 (76.5) | 388 (78.4) | 209 (80.4) |
x2 = 4.56, df = 2, p = 0.102 | x2 = 1.19, df = 2, p = 0.552 | x2 = 1.49, df = 1, p = 0.223 | x2 = 0.32, df = 1, p = 0.572 | |||||||||
Sources of information | ||||||||||||
Sources of information (740) * | ||||||||||||
None | 10 | 1.4 | 5 (3.1) | 1 (0.5) | 4 (1) | 5 (5.1) | 1 (0.7) | 4 (0.8) | 25 (4.9) | 2 (0.8) | 21 (4.2) | 6(2.3) |
Physicians | 12 | 1.6 | 2 (1.2) | 2 (1) | 8 (2.1) | 3 (3.1) | 1 (0.7) | 8 (1.6) | 10 (1.9) | 2 (0.8) | 10 (2) | 2(0.8) |
Media/journals/internet/social media | 508 | 68.3 | 117 (72.8) | 129 (67.9) | 259 (66.6) | 70 (71.4) | 99 (72.3) | 336 (66.7) | 347 (67.5) | 158 (65) | 333 (67.1) | 172(65.9) |
School/university/job/friends/relatives | 213 | 27.5 | 37 (22.9) | 58 (30.6) | 118 (30.3) | 20 (20.4) | 36 (26.3) | 156 (30.9) | 132 (25.7) | 81 (33.3) | 132 (26.6) | 81(31) |
x2 = 8.93, df = 6, p = 0.177 | x2 = 17.8, df = 6, p = 0.007 | x2 = 12.5, df = 3, p = 0.006 | x2 = 4.71, df = 3, p = 0.194 | |||||||||
Need for additional information on climate change (730) * | ||||||||||||
No | 348 | 47.7 | 100 (62.9) | 84 (44.4) | 162 (42.6) | 58 (59.8) | 69 (50.4) | 218 (44.2) | 252 (51.3) | 94 (39.6) | 230 (48.2) | 116 (45.9) |
Yes | 382 | 52.3 | 59 (37.1) | 105 (55.6) | 218 (57.4) | 39 (40.2) | 68 (49.6) | 275 (55.8) | 239 (48.7) | 143 (60.3) | 245 (51.6) | 137 (54.1) |
x2 = 19.43, df = 2, p < 0.001 | x2 = 8.46, df = 2, p = 0.015 | x2 = 8.71, df = 1, p = 0.003 | x2 = 0.44, df = 1, p = 0.508 |
Items * | Not at All | A Little | Moderately | Very | Extremely | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean ± SD | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | |
How worried are you about climate change (756) a | 4.2 ± 0.9 | 16 (2.1) | 18 (2.4) | 132 (17.5) | 196 (25.9) | 394 (52.1) |
How much do you think heat waves will negatively affect future generations (756) a | 4.5 ± 0.9 | 14 (1.9) | 10 (1.3) | 78 (10.3) | 143 (18.9) | 511 (67.6) |
How much do you think climate change will negatively affect you personally (755) a | 3.9 ± 1.0 | 22 (2.0) | 36 (4.8) | 162 (21.5) | 261 (34.6) | 274 (26.3) |
How much do you think climate change will negatively affect the Italian population (754) a | 4.2 ± 0.9 | 13 (1.7) | 27 (3.6) | 129 (17.1) | 228 (30.2) | 357 (47.4) |
How much do you think climate change will negatively affect future generations (755) a | 4.6 ± 0.8 | 11 (1.5) | 9 (1.2) | 61 (8.1) | 137 (18.2) | 537 (71.1) |
° Model 1. Believing that heat waves will negatively affect future generations | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Log likelihood = −549.96; χ2 = 27.28 (7 df), p = 0.0003, Pseudo R2 = 0.0242, No. obs = 676 | ||||
Variable | Coeff | 95% CI | p | |
Gender | ||||
Male | 1 a | |||
Female | 0.58 | 0.18–0.97 | 0.004 | |
Age group, (years) | ||||
≤40 | 1 a | |||
41–50 | 0.71 | 0.18–1.24 | 0.008 | |
>50 | 0.72 | 0.13–1.31 | 0.017 | |
Sources of information | ||||
None | 1 a | |||
Physicians | 0.84 | −0.81–2.49 | 0.322 | |
Media/journals/internet/social media | 1.12 | 0.39–2.26 | 0.043 | |
School/university/job/friends/relatives | 1.41 | 0.27–2.56 | 0.015 | |
Need for additional information about climate change | ||||
No | 1 a | |||
Yes | 0.34 | 0.01–0.66 | 0.043 | |
* Model 2. Being concerned about climate change | ||||
Log likelihood = −673.49, χ2 = 30.46 (9 df), p = 0.0004, Pseudo R2 = 0.0221, No. obs = 677 | ||||
Variable | Coeff | 95% CI | p | |
Gender | ||||
Male | 1 a | |||
Female | 0.46 | 0.99–0.82 | 0.013 | |
Age group, (years) | ||||
≤40 | 1 a | |||
41–50 | 0.55 | 0.62–1.04 | 0.027 | |
>50 | 0.74 | 0.19–1.29 | 0.009 | |
Number of children | ||||
One | 1 a | |||
More than one | −0.40 | −0.77–−0.04 | 0.031 | |
Need for additional information about climate change | ||||
No | 1 a | |||
Yes | 0.46 | 0.16–0.75 | 0.002 | |
Marital status | ||||
Unmarried/separated/divorced/widowed | 1 a | |||
Married/cohabiting | 0.25 | −0.24–0.74 | 0.309 | |
Sources of information | ||||
None | 1 a | |||
Physicians | 1.43 | −0.26–3.12 | 0.097 | |
Media/journals/internet/social media | 0.55 | −0.50–1.61 | 0.306 | |
School/university/job/friends/relatives | 0.77 | −0.31–1.85 | 0.162 | |
# Model 3. Believing that climate change will negatively affect future generations, them personally and Italian population | ||||
Log likelihood = −415.91, χ2 = 27.69 (8 df), p = 0.0005, Pseudo R2 = 0.0322, No. obs = 677 | ||||
Variable | OR | 95% CI | p | |
Gender | ||||
Male | 1 a | |||
Female | 1.89 | 1.19–3.01 | 0.007 | |
Sources of information | ||||
None | 1 a | |||
Physicians | Backward elimination | |||
Media/journals/internet/social media | 2.85 | 0.82–9.89 | 0.099 | |
School/university/job/friends/relatives | 3.81 | 1.08–13.48 | 0.038 | |
Need for additional information about climate change | ||||
No | 1 a | |||
Yes | 1.54 | 1.11–2.15 | 0.011 | |
Age group, (years) | ||||
≤40 | 1 a | |||
41–50 | 1.51 | 0.84–2.70 | 0.165 | |
>50 | 1.53 | 0.80–2.91 | 0.198 | |
Occupation | ||||
Employed | 1 a | |||
Unemployed | 0.75 | 0.49–1.13 | 0.166 | |
Number of children | ||||
At least one | 1 a | |||
More than one | 0.79 | 0.02–0.35 | 0.268 | |
+ Model 4. Engaging in behaviors that mitigate the impact of climate change | ||||
Log likelihood = −405.09, χ2 = 63.30 (8 df), p < 0.001, Pseudo R2 = 0.0788, No. obs = 676 | ||||
Variable | OR | 95% CI | p | |
Believing that climate change will negatively affect future generations, them personally and Italian population | ||||
Not at all/a little/ somewhat/a lot | 1 a | |||
Extremely | 1.67 | 1.14–2.44 | 0.009 | |
Believing that heat waves will negatively affect future generations | ||||
Not at all/a little/somewhat | 1 a | |||
A lot | 1.41 | 0.65–3.07 | 0.387 | |
Extremely | 2.98 | 1.48–6.03 | 0.002 | |
Age group, (years) | ||||
≤40 | 1 a | |||
41–50 | 0.79 | 0.07–1.85 | 0.230 | |
>50 | Backward elimination | |||
Number of children | ||||
One | 1 a | |||
More than one | 1.27 | 0.08–0.35 | 0.253 | |
Being concerned about climate change | ||||
Not at all/a little/somewhat | 1 a | |||
A lot | 0.74 | 0.42–1.31 | 0.305 | |
Extremely | 1.35 | 0.79–2.29 | 0.276 |
Items * | Never | Rarely | Sometimes | Often | Always | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean ± SD | N (%) | N (%) | N(%) | N (%) | N (%) | |
Talk with my friends about how to do something about environmental problems (756) a | 2.8 ± 1.1 | 110 (15.5) | 149 (19.7) | 326 (43.1) | 121 (16) | 50 (6.6) |
Turn off the lights at home when they are not in use (756) a | 4.6 ± 0.8 | 17 (2.3) | 16 (2.1) | 34 (4.5) | 98 (12.9) | 591 (78.2) |
Ask my family to recycle some of the used things (756) a | 4.2 ± 1.1 | 26 (3.4) | 27 (3.6) | 109 (14.4) | 181 (23.9) | 413 (54.6) |
Research things that I can do about environmental problems (755) a | 2.6 ± 1.1 | 152 (20.1) | 178 (23.6) | 284 (37.6) | 99 (13.1) | 42 (5.6) |
Ask the people in my family to turn off the water when it is not in use (755) a | 4.5 ± 0.9 | 23 (3.1) | 22 (2.9) | 62 (8.2) | 106 (14) | 542 (71.8) |
Close the refrigerator door while I decide what to take out of it (755) a | 4.3 ± 1.1 | 29 (3.8) | 36 (4.7) | 86 (11.4) | 151 (20) | 453 (60) |
Recycle at home (749) a | 4.1 ± 1.1 | 29 (3.9) | 26 (3.5) | 137 (18.3) | 195 (26) | 362 (48.3) |
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Gallè, F.; Paduano, G.; Sansone, V.; Di Onofrio, V.; Pelullo, C.P.; Di Giuseppe, G. Climate Change Perception and Sustainable Behaviors: A Cross-Sectional Study in Southern Italy. Earth 2025, 6, 59. https://doi.org/10.3390/earth6020059
Gallè F, Paduano G, Sansone V, Di Onofrio V, Pelullo CP, Di Giuseppe G. Climate Change Perception and Sustainable Behaviors: A Cross-Sectional Study in Southern Italy. Earth. 2025; 6(2):59. https://doi.org/10.3390/earth6020059
Chicago/Turabian StyleGallè, Francesca, Giovanna Paduano, Vincenza Sansone, Valeria Di Onofrio, Concetta Paola Pelullo, and Gabriella Di Giuseppe. 2025. "Climate Change Perception and Sustainable Behaviors: A Cross-Sectional Study in Southern Italy" Earth 6, no. 2: 59. https://doi.org/10.3390/earth6020059
APA StyleGallè, F., Paduano, G., Sansone, V., Di Onofrio, V., Pelullo, C. P., & Di Giuseppe, G. (2025). Climate Change Perception and Sustainable Behaviors: A Cross-Sectional Study in Southern Italy. Earth, 6(2), 59. https://doi.org/10.3390/earth6020059