From Parents to Planet: Understanding the Link Between Parenting Styles and Pro-Environmental Behaviors of a Sample of Italian Young Adults

Prior research on pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) has mainly focused on their cognitive antecedents, like biospheric values, norms and environmental concern. This study takes a broader view by integrating, in a comprehensive framework, the role of biospheric values with the sense of emotional connection with nature and environmental identity (EID). Moreover, this study also explores how these processes are shaped by autonomy-supportive parenting styles. Using Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM), data from 3,619 participants aged 18–35 were analyzed, controlling for age and gender. The findings show that autonomy-supportive parenting is strongly associated with biospheric values and emotional connection with nature. Biospheric values and emotional connection with nature were also significantly related to EID. Finally, EID predicted three out of four types of PEBs. Theoretical implications of these results are discussed.