Human values and beliefs and concern about climate change: a Bayesian longitudinal analysis

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of human values on beliefs and concern about climate change using a longitudinal design and Bayesian analysis. A sample of 298 undergraduate/master students filled out the same questionnaire on two occasions at an interval of 2\ua0months. The questionnaire included measures of beliefs and concern about climate change (i.e., perceived consequences, risk perception, and skepticism) and human values (i.e., the Portrait Values Questionnaire). After controlling for gender and the respective baseline score, universalism at Time 1 was associated with higher levels of perceived consequences of climate change and lower levels of climate change skepticism. Self-direction at Time 1 predicted Time 2 climate change risk perception and perceived consequences of climate change. Hedonism at Time 1 was associated with Time 2 climate change risk perception. The other human values at Time 1 were not associated with any of the measures of beliefs and concern about climate change at Time 2. The results of this study suggest that a focus on universalism and self-direction values seems to be a more successful approach to stimulate public engagement with climate change than a focus on other human values

Social Well-Being and Pro-Environmental Behavior: A Cross-Lagged Panel Design

The main aim of this study was to investigate the bidirectional relationship between social well-being and energy conservation behavior as a form of pro-environmental behavior. Participants were 298 undergraduate and masters students at an Italian public university. We applied structural equation modeling with two waves of survey data from a cross-lagged panel design to investigate reciprocal relationships between latent variables representing social well-being and pro-environmental behavior. Results showed that pro-environmental behavior at baseline predicted later social well-being controlling for the effects of baseline social well-being. Conversely, social well-being at baseline predicted subsequent levels of pro-environmental behavior controlling for previous levels of pro-environmental behavior. Results were compared using multi-group invariance testing of paths across gender. These relationships did not differ between men and women. Together, these findings suggest that a bidirectional relationship between social well-being and pro-environmental behavior is supported

School opportunities for the development of European citizenship: The perspective of students

School civic education has been identified as pivotal in fostering young people’s civic and political sense (Kahne & Sporte, 2008; Torney-Purta, 2002). Experiences in school can provide opportunities for participation and reflection in a supportive and challenging environment, which has been shown to lead to positive development of political attitudes (Ferreira et al., 2012). However, there is the need to explore further the characteristics of experiences in school that are relevant for the development of young people’s political attitudes related to the European context and on their perceptions of themselves as capable European citizens. Although schools are a crucial context of civic capacity-building and involvement, there are evidences that adequate civic education is hindered by inequalities in the opportunities for youth from disadvantaged backgrounds (Kahne & Middaugh, 2008). Special attention should be given to the different school tracks offered in educational systems, which in Italy seem to maintain a vertical hierarchy of prestige and quality (Triventi, 2014). The choice of these tracks in secondary education can be rooted in social background and ultimately reproduces social inequality (Contini & Scagni, 2011; Romito, 2014). It is thus important to understand what structural barriers and uneven opportunities to experience European citizenship are found in educational institutions and how young people might experience them as exposing a discrepancy between ideal and real-world democracy (Watts & Flanagan, 2007). In order to investigate young people’s understanding of their sociopolitical development as European citizens and of the educational opportunities they feel are crucial in this process in function of the type of school that is attended, we conducted a qualitative exploratory study with upper secondary school students from different tracks. The study involved 10 focus group discussions with a total of 101 students in 5 secondary schools in Emilia Romagna and Lazio regions. The data was collected within the European-funded H2020 research project CATCH-EyoU. The schools were chosen to represent different tracks, in order to consider diverse educational contexts in terms of resources and quality. Students were asked to talk about their ideas and experiences of civic and political participation, their interest and views on EU matters, the role played by the school in promoting these experiences. The data was analyzed through thematic content analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The results present students’ ambivalent attitudes toward the EU political context, their understanding of the possibilities and limitations to enact European citizenship and the aspects they identify within their educational institutions that foster opportunities for sociopolitical development. Differences and specificities of perspective among students from different school tracks are discussed. The findings highlight the multiple responsibility of schools not only to impart civic knowledge about EU, but to also provide a general environment that is open for dialogue between different views and that invites critical reflection and participation by students. The results have implications for the development of citizenship education programs

Evaluating interventions with victims of intimate partner violence: a community psychology approach

Purpose. Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is one of the most common forms of domestic violence, with profound implication for women's physical and psychological health. In this text we adopted the Empowerment Process Model (EPM) by Cattaneo and Goodman (2015) to analyse interventions provided to victims of IPV by a Support Centre for Women (SCW) in Italy, and understand its contribution to women’s empowerment. Method. We conducted semi-structured interviews with ten women who had been enrolled in a program for IPV survivors at a SCW in the past three years. The interviews focused on the programs’ aims, actions undertaken to reach them, and the impact on the women’s lives, and were analysed using an interpretative phenomenological approach. Results. Results showed that the interventions provided by the SWC were adapted according to women's needs. In the early phases, women’s primary aim was ending violence, and the intervention by the SCW was deemed as helpful to the extent it provided psychological support, protection and safe housing. Women’s aims subsequently moved to self-actualisation and economic and personal independence which required professional training, internships, and social support. Although satisfying the majority of the women’s expectations, other important needs (e.g., economic support or legal services) were poorly addressed, and cooperation with other services (e.g., police or social services) was sometimes deemed as critical. Conclusions. By evaluating a program offered by a SCW to IPV survivors through the lens of the EPM model, we found that women deemed the program as effective when both individual resources and empowerment processes were promoted. Strengths, limitations and implications are discussed

Perceived School Characteristics Fostering Civic Engagement Among Adolescents in Italy

It has been widely argued that effective citizenship education should focus on more than mere teaching of civic knowledge, but should provide a wider range of opportunities for the experience of participation and development of skills, efficacy and interest instrumental to active citizenship. Opportunities for critical reflection such as open classroom discussions, fairness at school, institutional efficacy and student participation at school activities have been linked to the development of civic and political attitudes. The capacity of school education to provide opportunities for critical reflection on students\u2019 participative experiences, however, has not been explored empirically sufficiently. This paper aims to identify the contribution of different school characteristics to the development of civic and political attitudes and their impact on students\u2019 level of participation in civic activities through a mixed methods study. Questionnaire data collected in two waves with 685 adolescents from Italy were analyzed through structural equation modeling to test the effects of school characteristics at Time 1 (democratic climate, student participation and critical reflection) on civic participation at Time 2, mediated by institutional trust, civic efficacy and political interest. In order to explore the quantitative findings and examine further students\u2019 perceptions of the school aspects that support their civic involvement, focus group discussions were conducted with students from secondary schools with different tracks.The results highlight the importance of opportunities for active involvement in school and critical reflection in fostering political interest, efficacy and civic participation. Democratic school climate was found to impact institutional trust and civic efficacy, but not participation. Students\u2019 accounts of schools\u2019 citizenship education activities highlight further the need for a participative environment that rises above information transmission by inviting critical reflection and giving value to students\u2019 active involvement in the institution

Longitudinal predictors of perceived climate change importance and worry among Italian youths : a machine learning approach

The current study aimed to investigate the longitudinal predictors of perceived importance of climate change and personal worry among Italian youths. Specifically, we used machine learning techniques to examine the predictive importance of a wide range of socio-demographic factors, political perceptions, attitudes on a national and European level (identity, attitudes, tolerance, support for democracy, authoritarianism, nationalism, political trust), efficacy beliefs, social well-being, political interest, and different forms of participation on perceived importance of climate change and personal worry. In this longitudinal study, we collected data using a questionnaire in two waves at a one-year interval—in 2016 and 2017. Participants were 1288 Italian young adults (61.3% were female; 38.7% were male) whose mean age was 19.18 (SD = 3.29) ranging between 15 and 30 years. Breiman’s random forest algorithm performed better than Friedman’s gradient boosting machines algorithm. The random forest algorithm revealed that age, tolerance toward migrants, and tolerance toward refugees were the most important predictors of perceived importance of climate change and personal worry. Other important predictors were national/European identity, political interest, internal political efficacy, nationalism, social well-being, self-efficacy, authoritarianism, anti-democratic attitudes, EU warmth, and online and civic participation

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN A CHANGING WORLD: DOES IT CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP?

One of the challenges faced by contemporary societies concerns building a more inclusive society. This objective is particularly compelling in the current historical period characterized by growing social and cultural heterogeneity in European countries and an increase of prejudice and discrimination to-ward immigrants. Global citizenship (GC) can support inclusive attitudes and immigrants\u2019 acceptance. The aim of the study was to test the role of different forms of associative experiences and civic and po-litical participation in promoting GC in the younger generations. Data were collected between October 2016 and January 2017 using paper and online questionnaires. The sample consisted of 1,732 partici-pants (60.7% females; Mage = 19.73). The questionnaire measured demographics, mobility experiences, membership in organizations, latent and manifest political participation. Based on UNESCO conceptual model (2015), GC was operationalized as follows: openness and tolerance toward migrants and refu-gees, trust in people, democratic and civic values, knowledge and political awareness, personal and collective capacity to act politically. Results showed that members of volunteer organizations scored higher in all the dimensions of GC included in the study, compared to nonmembers, while the impact of other kinds of organizational membership and participation on GC was limited. Volunteer organiza-tions proved to be a very important context for the development of GC in young generation