Unearthing the Personality Traits of Ecologically Concerned Youth in India

Abstract

The present research study focused on understanding the ecological beliefs and attitudes of educated Indian urban youth. The study was an attempt to explore individual differences in their views from the perspective of personality traits. This study is relevant for understanding the Indian mindset on environmental concerns, as not much prior research is available to understand this perspective. This study examined personality traits and environmental concern in a sample of 352 urban educated youth of which 54.5% were female and the mean age was 21.4 years. The researchers used the 15-item New Ecological Paradigm Scale to measure ecological concern, which is one of the most widely used measures of environmental attitudes. The 44-item Big Five Inventory was used to assess the Big Five personality traits. A multiple hierarchical regression yielded a significant model revealing the personality pattern of the ecologically concerned young Indian. These observations shed light on an ecologically concerned educated young Indian.