The Mediating Role of Subjective Norms and Green Self-Efficacy in Marine Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors Among Chinese University Students

This study aimed to investigate how subjective norms (SNs) and green self-efficacy (GSE) mediate the relationship between marine environmental attitudes (MEAs) and environmentally friendly behavior (EFB) among Chinese undergraduates, using a cross-sectional survey of 673 university undergraduates from two universities in China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the mediation effects between those four constructs. The results showed that SNs (β = 0.352, SE = 0.031, 95% CI [0.218, 0.421], p < 0.001) significantly mediated the relationship between MEA and EFB. In addition, GSE (β = 0.078, SE = 0.038, 95% CI [0.043, 0.091], p < 0.001) mediated the relationship between MEA and EFB to a lesser extent. These findings suggest that interventions targeting both SNs and GSE may be useful to promote greater levels of EFB among Chinese undergraduates, and underline the importance of considering gender, years at university, major field of study, and marine environmental courses when designing and evaluating intervention programs for Chinese undergraduates.