Year: 2014 Volume: 13 Issue: b

Abstract: The purpose of the present study was to test the factorial validity of the Greek version of the “Responsible Environmental Behavior” (Zafeiroudi & Hatzigeorgiadis, 2012), and additionally to investigate differences in responsible environmental behavior as a function of demographic characteristics, and participation in outdoor activities. Participants were 792 adults (379 men and 413 women) from the prefecture of Attica (the largest prefecture of the country). Confirmatory Factor Analysis revealed acceptable fit for the hypothesized 2-factor structure, individual and group environmental action, thus providing support for scale’s factorial validity. Analysis of internal consistency supported the reliability of the two subscales (Cronbach’s alpha .82 and .85 respectively). Regarding the examination of the demographic variables, analysis of variance revealed significant effects for (a) gender, with men scoring higher in group action and lower in individual action compared to women; (b) age group, with the 35-54 sub-group displaying higher scores than the 18-34 and the 55-68 sub-groups in both individual and group action; and (c) education level, with individuals with elementary education scoring lower in individual action compared to those with secondary and higher education. Finally, with regard to participation in outdoors activities, analysis of variance showed that individuals participating more frequently scored higher in both individual and group action than those who do not participate. The results of the present study provide support for the psychometric integrity of the Greek version of the Responsible Environmental Behavior instrument, and identify an important relationship between environmental behavior and participation in outdoor activities, suggesting that individuals’ outdoors experiences may help people getting connected with the natural environment.