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Testing a tridimensional model of sustainable behavior: self-care, caring for others, and caring for the planet

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Abstract

This paper investigates the dimensions of sustainable behavior, with a particular focus on the aspects of self-care, caring for others, and caring for the environment. Its aim was to test the assumption that sustainable behavior not only encompasses pro-social and pro-environmental actions, as the current research acknowledges, but also behaviors that are directed toward self-preservation and care. A subscale of self-care specifically developed for this research was added to a series of previously validated instruments assessing altruistic, equitable, pro-ecological, and frugal behaviors to examine the personal, social, and physical environmental aspects of sustainable behavior. Responses from a sample of 290 participants confirmed the three-dimensional structure of sustainable behavior. Results suggest sustainability, understood as a chain of interdependences between the individual, society, and nature, begins with self-care and continues with caring for others, and with caring for the biosphere, which, in turn, affords for a more sustainable environment for the individual.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, México

    Víctor Corral-Verdugo & Nissa Torres-Soto

  2. Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Brazil

    Claudia Pato

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  1. Víctor Corral-Verdugo
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  2. Claudia Pato
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  3. Nissa Torres-Soto
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Correspondence to Víctor Corral-Verdugo.

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Corral-Verdugo, V., Pato, C. & Torres-Soto, N. Testing a tridimensional model of sustainable behavior: self-care, caring for others, and caring for the planet. Environ Dev Sustain 23, 12867–12882 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-01189-9

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