Daily dynamics of pro-environmental behaviors and eudaimonic well-being among adolescents

Abstract

Research shows that engaging in pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) might enhance individuals' eudaimonic well-being, including meaning in life (ML) and closeness to others (CO). Despite adolescents' potential role in shaping sustainable societies and their vulnerability to environmental issues, existing literature has not adequately addressed this age group. Additionally, most of the extant research is built on cross-sectional studies, which target between-person differences and fail to capture within-person fluctuations occurring in everyday life. To address these gaps, this study explored the association of daily PEB with adolescents' daily ML and CO, and whether variations in habitual PEB levels are positively associated with variations in habitual levels of these two dimensions. Additionally, we examined the moderating role of self-transcendence values in the PEB-ML and PEB-CO relations. The study included 78 Italian adolescents (MAge = 14.8, SD = .73, 29.5% females) from a larger cross-cultural research project. Participants completed a daily diary study, reporting their PEB, ML and CO once a day over 28 days. Using Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling, the results revealed a significant positive spillover effect from PEB to ML (B = .258; 95% CI: [.121, .402]), indicating that when individuals engaged in more PEB than usual, they experienced higher-than-usual ML the following day. On the other hand, the spillover from PEB to CO was non-significant (B = .099; 95% CI: [-.034, .226]). Moreover, no link was found between self-transcendence values and these spillover effects. These findings provide insights into possible short-term benefits of PEB for adolescents’ ML and contribute to understanding the role of PEB in promoting youth well-being.