The effect of sustainability awareness on climate emotions of Chinese college students - moderated by future time perspective

Chinese college students' emotional responses to climate change are shaped by awareness of sustainability, which can be shaped by future time perspective. This study investigates the effect of sustainability awareness on climate emotions of Chinese college students, moderated by future time per...

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Main Authors: Huan Cao, Peng-Fei Chen, Ke Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-08-01
Series:Acta Psychologica
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000169182500486X
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author Huan Cao
Peng-Fei Chen
Ke Zhang
author_facet Huan Cao
Peng-Fei Chen
Ke Zhang
author_sort Huan Cao
collection DOAJ
description Chinese college students' emotional responses to climate change are shaped by awareness of sustainability, which can be shaped by future time perspective. This study investigates the effect of sustainability awareness on climate emotions of Chinese college students, moderated by future time perspective. Drawing on value-belief-norm theory, this research examines the influences of demographic factors such as gender, college location, and educational level on sustainability consciousness and climate emotions. The questionnaire was applied to 1208 Chinese college students from eastern, central, and western China, with data analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical regression. Results indicate that sustainability awareness has a strong effect on climate emotions and that future time perspective may moderate this relationship to increase the effect of sustainability awareness on emotional responses to climate change. Differences also existed between gender, whereby female students reported higher levels of sustainability awareness and climate emotions than male students. Eastern Chinese students and senior students also indicated higher sustainability awareness and stronger climate emotions. These emotions contribute to understanding the psychological pathways connecting environmental beliefs with emotional engagement and offer practical implications for climate education and sustainability-focused interventions in Chinese higher education.
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series Acta Psychologica
spelling doaj-art-d0b2ff0ba9dc4159893e70192e2c2b1a2025-08-20T02:50:03ZengElsevierActa Psychologica0001-69182025-08-0125810517310.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105173The effect of sustainability awareness on climate emotions of Chinese college students - moderated by future time perspectiveHuan Cao0Peng-Fei Chen1Ke Zhang2Dhurakij Pundit University, 110/1-4 Prachachuen Road, Laksi, Bangkok 10210, ThailandCorresponding author.; Dhurakij Pundit University, 110/1-4 Prachachuen Road, Laksi, Bangkok 10210, ThailandDhurakij Pundit University, 110/1-4 Prachachuen Road, Laksi, Bangkok 10210, ThailandChinese college students' emotional responses to climate change are shaped by awareness of sustainability, which can be shaped by future time perspective. This study investigates the effect of sustainability awareness on climate emotions of Chinese college students, moderated by future time perspective. Drawing on value-belief-norm theory, this research examines the influences of demographic factors such as gender, college location, and educational level on sustainability consciousness and climate emotions. The questionnaire was applied to 1208 Chinese college students from eastern, central, and western China, with data analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical regression. Results indicate that sustainability awareness has a strong effect on climate emotions and that future time perspective may moderate this relationship to increase the effect of sustainability awareness on emotional responses to climate change. Differences also existed between gender, whereby female students reported higher levels of sustainability awareness and climate emotions than male students. Eastern Chinese students and senior students also indicated higher sustainability awareness and stronger climate emotions. These emotions contribute to understanding the psychological pathways connecting environmental beliefs with emotional engagement and offer practical implications for climate education and sustainability-focused interventions in Chinese higher education.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000169182500486XSustainability awarenessClimate emotionsFuture time perspectiveChinese college students
spellingShingle Huan Cao
Peng-Fei Chen
Ke Zhang
The effect of sustainability awareness on climate emotions of Chinese college students - moderated by future time perspective
Acta Psychologica
Sustainability awareness
Climate emotions
Future time perspective
Chinese college students
title The effect of sustainability awareness on climate emotions of Chinese college students - moderated by future time perspective
title_full The effect of sustainability awareness on climate emotions of Chinese college students - moderated by future time perspective
title_fullStr The effect of sustainability awareness on climate emotions of Chinese college students - moderated by future time perspective
title_full_unstemmed The effect of sustainability awareness on climate emotions of Chinese college students - moderated by future time perspective
title_short The effect of sustainability awareness on climate emotions of Chinese college students - moderated by future time perspective
title_sort effect of sustainability awareness on climate emotions of chinese college students moderated by future time perspective
topic Sustainability awareness
Climate emotions
Future time perspective
Chinese college students
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000169182500486X
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