Latent profile analysis of ecological literacy among Turkish parents: associations with sociodemographic characteristics

Ecological literacy is a multidimensional construct encompassing environmental values as well as their expression in everyday practices. Parents remain understudied, although they form part of the immediate context in which children’s understanding of environmental issues develops. This study examined parents’ ecological literacy awareness by combining variable-centered and person-centered approaches. A convenience sample of 543 parents living in Türkiye who had at least one child participated in the study. Total scores were compared across eight sociodemographic and contextual characteristics. Latent profile analysis was then conducted using the two awareness sub-dimensions as separate indicators, and associations with profile membership were examined through a three-step procedure accounting for classification error. Ecological literacy awareness was modest overall, with most participants scoring below the theoretical midpoint of the scale, and total scores did not differ significantly across any characteristic examined. The three profiles that emerged differed in overall level rather than in the relative standing of the two dimensions, and no configuration combining strong environmental values with limited sustainable living was observed. Educational level and number of children were weakly associated with profile membership, although neither had been related to total scores. Associations detected at the profile level but not at the level of total scores suggest that variable-centered and person-centered approaches provide complementary information. The main contribution of the study is methodological. The findings suggest that awareness-based indicators alone cannot capture the gap between environmental values and everyday practice. Future research on ecological literacy should therefore combine self-reported values with behavioral or household-level measures.