Adolescents’ environmental responsibility toward the sea: the role of parent-child civic communication and life goals

Adolescents’ environmental responsibility is shaped by both individual and contextual factors, including life goal orientation and family communication processes. The present study examined the associations between parent–child civic communication, intrinsic and extrinsic life goals, and environmental responsibility toward the sea among Italian adolescents. Participants were 277 adolescents aged between 11 and 17 years (M = 13.75; SD = 1.76) who completed self-report questionnaires assessing parent–child civic communication, life goals, and marine environmental responsibility.

Structural equation modeling was conducted to test the hypothesized associations between variables. The results showed that parent–child civic communication was positively associated with intrinsic life goals, whereas no significant association emerged with extrinsic goals. Intrinsic goals were positively associated with marine environmental responsibility, while extrinsic goals were not significantly related to this outcome.

Furthermore, an indirect association emerged between parent–child civic communication and marine environmental responsibility through intrinsic life goals. These findings suggest that civic communication within the family may support the development of intrinsic aspirations associated with greater environmental responsibility toward the sea. The study contributes to the understanding of psychological and relational processes associated with adolescents’ engagement in environmental sustainability and marine conservation.

Department of Health Sciences, University “Magna Graecia” of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy Center for Research and Psychological Intervention, University of Messina, Messina, Italy Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy Correspondence to Federica Papa or Francesca Cuzzocrea. The authors declare no competing interests. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Center for Psychological Research and Intervention (CeRIP) at the University of Messina (protocol no. 0017748).

All procedures performed in the present study were conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the ethical guidelines of the Italian Association of Psychology (AIP). Informed consent was obtained from all participants and from their parents or legal guardians prior to participation in the study. Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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