Predicting Ecological Behavior in the Era of Climate Change

The most devastating effects of climate change may be avoided if humans reduce activities that produce greenhouse gases and engage instead in more sustainable ecological behaviors. The current mixed methods study of 279 undergraduate students explored whether environmental worldview, belief in climate change, knowledge of climate change, personal efficacy, and intention to address climate change influenced participants’ engagement in ecological behavior. Results indicated that those with a stronger intention to address climate change and a more ecocentric worldview reported significantly more ecological behavior. Next, the study examined whether participants’ intentions to address climate change mediated the relationship between their belief in climate change and engagement in ecological behavior and whether intentions mediated the relationship between efficacy and ecological behavior. Intentions to address climate change did not mediate the relationship between belief and ecological behavior but fully mediated the relationship between efficacy to address climate change and ecological behavior

Childhood Maltreatment and Revictimization by an Intimate Partner: The Role of Africultural Coping for at-risk African American Women

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a leading cause of death and injury for women in the United States. Although African American women are one of the groups most likely to be killed by an intimate partner, there has been little research to identify factors associated with risk among this group. To address this gap in the literature, the current study investigated ecological risk factors associated with physical and psychological IPV. Next, Africultural coping was explored as a moderator hypothesized to decrease the association between childhood maltreatment (CM) one of the strongest predictors of IPV, and IPV outcomes. It was hypothesized that Africultural coping would moderate the association between the level of retrospectively reported CM and recent reports of psychological IPV victimization, such that there would be a weaker relationship between CM and IPV for women who reported higher levels of Africultural coping. Results of multiple linear regressions indicated that higher levels of CM predicted both psychological and physical IPV, while controlling for the participants’ age. Hypothesized moderators were limited in their association with IPV. Implications for research, policy, practice, and wellness promotion for African American women are discussed