Poškus, Mykolas Simas

In this study, we examine whether personality profiles moderate a recently proposed environmental behaviour–well-being model. The model is grounded in Self-Determination Theory, which suggests that pro-environmental behaviour may contribute to subjective well-being through the satisfaction of basic psychological needs. A total of 403 adolescents from four Lithuanian schools participated in this study. Participants were selected using a convenience sampling method, and the average participant age was 14.89 years (56.6% female). Structural equation modelling demonstrated acceptable model fit (CFI = 0.988, TLI = 0.986, NFI = 0.929, RMSEA = 0.043 [0.022–0.058], SRMR = 0.113, χ2 (353) = 416.92, p = 0.011) and indicated that personality profiles moderate several pathways within the environmental behaviour–well-being model. Additionally, the results showed that pro-environmental behaviour and connectedness to nature did not significantly predict subjective well-being across all personality profiles. The findings highlight the importance of considering personality differences when designing sustainability-related educational interventions aimed at promoting environmental citizenship and improving subjective well-being.

Engaging youth in climate change activism is crucial, particularly in countries where such activism is uncommon. Formal environmental education may play a key role in fostering this engagement. This study evaluated the impact of an educational intervention designed to stimulate general discussion on various contributors to climate change and assess its influence on adolescents’ support for climate activism. The intervention was conducted in four high schools across three administrative regions in Lithuania from October to December 2022, involving 245 adolescents (59.6% female; M = 14.84, SD = 1.29). It included a pre-test, four weekly classes held during regular school hours, a post-test, and a follow-up measurement. Results showed that the intervention increased adolescents’ interest in climate change activism and their self-reported willingness to participate in climate change protests. However, while there was a rise in interest in activism, support for specific activist activities and climate change protests did not significantly change. The analysis also indicated modest effects of gender and school on outcomes. Overall, these findings suggest that environmental education focusing on general topics can enhance some aspects of youth interest in climate activism, though the effects are relatively small.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are recognized risk factors for later substance use. Yet, data remain scarce—particularly regarding the differentiated effects of specific types of ACEs and their distinct associations with various psychoactive substances. The current study is one of the first in Lithuania to explore the associations between specific ACEs and psychoactive substance use in young adulthood (ages 18–29). This cross-sectional study included a total of 709 participants who completed an online survey. ACEs were measured using a combination of adapted ACEs items and the MACE questionnaire. Substance use was assessed using self-reported instruments: CUDIT-R (cannabis), AUDIT (alcohol), ASSIST (heavy psychoactive substances), and nicotine use. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was chosen to examine predictive relationships. Results revealed that experiences of sexual abuse and physical maltreatment in childhood predicted higher levels of alcohol use in young adulthood. Sexual abuse was positively associated with nicotine, cannabis, and heavy psychoactive substance use, while witnessing interpersonal violence was only associated with higher nicotine use. However, verbal abuse showed significant negative associations across several substance categories. No significant associations were found between family addiction history and substance use. The absence of an important relationship between family history of addiction and substance use indicates that genetic factors may be less decisive than environmental or psychosocial conditions. The main findings of this study are that ACEs are not qualitatively equivalent to one another, so it is worth examining them separately, rather than summing them. Furthermore, based on the negative associations with verbal abuse and the generally statistically negative associations, we can assume that ACEs may not be the most important factors increasing substance use. Further studies should look for other factors that influence substance use.

Promoting environmental citizenship can be a strong positive force toward addressing our current environmental issues. Informed individuals that act in pro-environmental ways both publicly and privately, as well as engage in civic action aimed at addressing environmental issues, are a substantial force for positive change. However, there is a well-known political divide between the political left and political right, where left-leaning individuals tend to engage more in environmental action that right-leaning individuals. The present study explores whether environmental education and environmental literacy might hold the key for right-wing participation in environmental citizenship. A representative sample of 700 Lithuanian emerging adults (20–39 years of age, mean age 30.6 years, 50% female) was used in the present study. Participants filled in measures of their political orientation, environmental citizenship, environmental literacy, and environmental (self-)education. The results showed that, as expected, left-leaning views were positively associated with environmental citizenship, but when interactions between political orientation and environmental literacy as well as environmental (self-)education were introduced, right-leaning views tended to increase the association between environmental citizenship and environmental literacy as well as environmental (self-)education. The results show a promising outlook toward using quality education to promote environmental citizenship among right-leaning individuals.

Proportions are one of the primary components of successful image composition during the visual art creation process, which, in turn, is determinant of the variety of effects of images on the viewer, including emotional reactions, attention, and aesthetic preference. The importance of image width and height ratio is especially visible in the current trend to adopt the widest possible screens in a variety of modern creative media applications: photo, video, computer games, etc. In the present study emotional and aesthetic evaluations of the three most popular aspect ratios that are used in digital media devices were compared. This was achieved by assessing emotional arousal and valence ratings together with the interest and appeal evaluations of realistic photos presented in 4:3, 16:9, and 21:9 aspect ratios. The results demonstrated that the widest images did not have an inherent advantage – photos presented in the mid-wide aspect ratio of 16:9 could be considered as more effective, because they were rated as evoking the most positive emotional reactions and as the most liked pictures. This demonstrated that single design features can have an independent emotional effect, which needs to be considered in visual design aiming to evoke emotional reactions to the viewer.

A part of the Simple Model of Environmental Citizenship (SMEC) was explored in a two-wave longitudinal study in a non-intervention setting with approximately one month between measurements. The variables of environmental citizenship, environmental literacy, concrete environmental knowledge, and environmental (self-)education were chosen as potentially the most malleable parts of the SMEC which could naturally change over time in an educational setting. A total of 171 university students participated in the first measurement wave of the study, and 93 participants were retained in the second wave. The mean age of participants was 23 years of age (SD = 4), and 76.6% of participants were women, 21.6% were men, and 1.8% chose not to answer. Results uncovered that, in one month’s time, participants’ concrete environmental knowledge as well as environmental literacy significantly increased, while environmental (self-)education and environmental citizenship had positive yet insignificant effects. Path analysis revealed that measurements at the second measurement wave did not add any new variance that could not be explained through first wave measurements, highlighting that the development of the investigated variables requires more time.

Environmental citizenship and education for environmental citizenship have been identified as important areas to address, yet there is no simple way of studying either environmental citizenship or how effective is the education for it. In order to address this gap in the literature and to provide a practical model for future studies of environmental citizenship, especially in educational contexts, a Simple Model of Environmental Citizenship (SMEC), consisting of environmental (self-)education, abstract and concrete environmental knowledge, environmental awareness, pro-environmental attitudes, need for learning about environmental issues, need for environmental action, environmental literacy, and environmental citizenship was tested in a sample of adolescents. The objective of the study is to test the SMEC in a sample of adolescents in order to investigate its structure and functioning. The current sample consists of 236 adolescents from two schools in Lithuania recruited through convenience sampling. Structural equation modelling with DWLS estimation was used to test the SMEC. The SMEC, after small adjustments that are consistent with previous research, fit the data well. The SMEC provides a good starting point for future interventional and longitudinal studies with adolescents as well as other age groups.

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