Dispositional regulatory focus in citizen science: Implications for engagement in environmental and public health monitoring

• First application of Regulatory Focus Theory to examine citizen science engagement. • Self-reported motivations showed no variation among regulatory focus groups. • A significant skew toward prevention-focus was found in monitoring initiatives. • Higher regulatory focus intensity predicted shorter volunteer participation spans. • Solutions support SDGs 3, 11, and 13 via behaviorally-informed citizen science. Citizen science faces persistent challenges in sustaining engagement, and understanding drivers of volunteer participation, particularly in digital initiatives addressing environmental and public health concerns. The study offers a novel application of Regulatory Focus Theory to examine the impact of dispositional goal orientations among participants of Mosquito Alert, a transnational initiative tracking invasive disease-carrying mosquitoes. Using mixed-method analysis of survey data and in-platform behavioral metrics, a significant skew towards prevention-focused participants was found. A further discrepancy emerged between self-reported motivations and actual behavior. Notably, heightened dispositional regulatory focus correlated with shorter participation spans. The findings revealed critical gaps between perceived motivations and behavioral outcomes, underscored importance of further integrating psychological constructs into platform design to enable and maintain long-term volunteer participation. The study advances theoretical understanding of volunteer psychology in sustainability contexts offering actionable strategies for improving the efficacy of initiatives.