Youth perception of air pollution and the evaluation of governmental environmental performance: Evidence from China

Given that youth are central to societal development and environmental governance, their evaluation of governmental environmental performance is essential for policy refinement and enhanced efficacy. However, the mechanisms linking youth perception of air pollution to such evaluation remain underexplored. Drawing on data from the 2021 China Social Survey (CSS), this study employs an ordered logistic model to investigate this relationship. The results indicate that youth with a heightened perception of air pollution tend to give more negative evaluations of governmental environmental performance. Further mediation analysis using bootstrap methods identified three significant parallel mediators: residential satisfaction, environmental safety perception, and trust in local government. The relative contributions of these mediators were then decomposed and compared using the Karlson-Holm-Breen (KHB) method. These findings highlight the value of incorporating youth perspectives, advance the literature on public evaluations of environmental governance by delineating distinct psychological pathways, and provide empirical evidence for designing targeted policies.