Normative Influences on Adolescents' Self Reported Pro Environmental Behaviors: The Role of Parents and Friends
Pro environmental behavioral patterns are influenced by relevant others' actions and expectations. Studies about the intergenerational transmission of environmentalism have demonstrated that parents play a major role in their children's pro environmental actions. However, little is known about how other social agents may shape youth's environmentalism. This cross sectional study concentrates on the role that parents and peers have in the regulation of 12 to 19 year olds' pro environmental behaviors. We also consider the common response bias effect by examining the associations between parents, peers, and adolescents' pro environmentalism in two independent data sets. Data Set 1 (N 330) includes adolescents' perceptions of relevant others' behaviors. Data Set 2 (N 152) includes relevant others' self reported pro environmental behavior. Our results show that parents' and peers' descriptive and injunctive norms have a direct effect on adolescents' pro environmental behavior and an indirect one, through personal norms. Adolescents seem to be accurate in the perception of their close ones' environmental actions.