Abstract
This study analyzed the impact of educational, perception, and attitudinal factors on the plastic waste behavior of high school students in Vietnam. A cross-sectional research design and questionnaire survey method were used to collect data from 573 high school students. All the statistical analyses and hypothesis tests were performed using SPSS 26 and AmoS 20 software. Research results show that perception does not directly affect students’ behavior toward the plastic waste problem (B = 0.051, p = 0.201 > 0.05, CI = [− 0.027; 0.130]) but has an indirect impact through attitude mediation, with an impact coefficient of B = 0.107 (p = 0.016 < 0.05, CI = [0.042; 0.177]). Educational factors positively impact students’ behavior toward plastic waste through both direct effects, with an impact coefficient of B = 0.546 (p = 0.00 < 0.05, CI = [0.473; 0.620], and indirect effects, mediated by attitude, with an impact coefficient of B = 0.017 (p = 0.007 < 0.05, CI = [0.003; 0.037]). These findings are new compared to previous studies, contributing to enriching theories related to behavior toward the plastic waste problem and bringing practical significance to Vietnam. The findings of this study provide the basis for proposing measures to improve plastic waste behaviors for Vietnamese high school students.
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We thank all participants and their parents for their cooperation.
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This research was funded by Hue University (Vietnam) under grant number DHH2022-03–167.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Conceptualization: Hien Thi Nguyen; methodology: Hien Thi Nguyen and Thi Truc Quynh Ho; software: Ba Loc Hoang; validation: Hien Thi Nguyen and Ba Loc Hoang; formal analysis: Hien Thi Nguyen and Thi Truc Quynh Ho; investigation: Hien Thi Nguyen and Thi Cam Tu Le; resources: Hien Thi Nguyen and Thi Truc Quynh Ho; data curation: Hien Thi Nguyen and Ba Loc Hoang; writing—original draft preparation: Hien Thi Nguyen; writing—review and editing: Thi Truc Quynh Ho and Thi Cam Tu Le; visualization: Thi Truc Quynh Ho, Thi Cam Tu Le, and Hien Thi Nguyen; supervision: Hien Thi Nguyen; project administration: Hien Thi Nguyen and Thi Truc Quynh Ho; funding acquisition: Hien Thi Nguyen. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Nguyen, H.T., Ho, T.T.Q., Hoang, B.L. et al. Impacts of education and perception on Vietnamese high school students’ behaviors regarding plastic waste: the mediating role of attitude. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 19543–19555 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32384-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32384-0