PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIORS IN TÜRKIYE: A SCALE DEVELOPMENT STUDY

The increase in the global temperature, wildfires, and droughts that occurred in the past decades have presented a preview of what would happen if people do not start taking action to protect the environment. Considering the importance of human actions to save the planet, we developed a culture-specific tool to measure pro-environmental behaviors in Türkiye, one of the most polluted countries in Europe. In a pilot study, we created a pool of 52 items with subject matter experts on environmental psychology. Then, we conducted two studies to develop and validate the Turkish Pro-Environmental Behavior Scale (TPEBS). In Study 1, we examined the scale's factor structure on a sample of college students (N = 454). Exploratory factor analysis resulted in an 18-item, 4-factor structure explaining 58.68% of the total variance. Factors were identified as environmental literacy (5 items), reducing waste (5 items), collective action (2 items), and environmentally conscious consumption (6 items). The scale’s internal consistency was psychometrically sound (Cronbach’s α = .88), and the positive correlations with the Environmental Attitude Scale and the New Ecological Paradigm Scale supported the convergent validity. In Study 2, we tested the dimensionality of the TPEBS through confirmatory factor analysis (N = 449), and the structure showed an acceptable fit with the data. We expect this new scale to be useful for environmental research in Türkiye, especially in the behavioral sciences.