An Exploratory Study of a New Psychological Instrument for Evaluating Sustainability: The Sustainable Development Goals Psychological Inventory

Abstract

The psychometric properties of the Sustainable Development Goals Psychological Inventory (SDGPI) are verified, by employing quantitative and qualitative approaches, in order to obtain a thorough comprehension of the self-perceptions of the sustainable development goals by the Italian participants in this research. The reliability, dimensionality, and aspects of concurrent validity were tested for the SDGPI. Three unidimensional factors (interest, motivation, and self-efficacy) were shown to be prevalent using exploratory factor analysis. Furthermore, the SDGPI showed adequate concurrent validity and internal consistency in the present study. To broaden the quantitative findings, responses to open-ended questions were analyzed. The results suggest perspectives for future exploration and actions regarding the psychology of sustainable development and sustainability.

Toward Environmental Sustainability, Health, and Equity: How the Psychological Characteristics of College Students Are Reflected in Understanding Sustainable Development Goals

“…(Table 1), the college students particularly stressed SDG 3, "good health and well-being" (49.72%); SDG 4, "quality education" (41.39%); and SDG 1, "no poverty" (32.22%). Consistent with previous research [30], SDG 3, SDG 4, and SDG 1 were the top three most important SDGs. SDG 3 is dedicated to health and well-being for everyone at all ages [63,64], and it is also recognized as critical for achieving the other SDGs [65].…”

“…(Table 2), the college students identified SDG 8, "decent work and economic growth (41.11%); SDG 17, "partnerships for the goals" (38.06%); and SDG 12 "responsible consumption and institutions" (30.83%). The result supports a previous study [30] on SDG 17, but differs in that the other least important in that study were SDG 14 and SDG 0 (all important). Some SDGs (e.g., SDG 8 and SDG 17) may not be directly related to the lives of college students and were therefore ranked as least important.…”

“…In our study, we used the SDGPI measure developed by Di Fabio and Rosen [30], to find data for SE development, as the data obtained through the SDGPI provide an opportunity for universities to support sustainable development in their operations. We examined college students' attitude, interest, motivation, and self-efficacy with regard to 17 SDGs, and further identified through SDGPI how the psychological characteristics of college students are reflected in understanding next SDGs: environmental sustainability, health, and equity.…”

“…Based on the SDGPI of Di Fabio and Rosen [30], our SDGPI is composed of 68 items. Each of the four subscales has 17 items, and the 17 items for each subscale correspond to the 17 SDGs (File S2).…”

“…Thus, from the perspective of teaching and learning processes, it is important to know how students' psychological characteristics are reflected in their understanding of the SDGs. Based on the previous ideas, we conducted a survey expecting to fill an important research gap by investigating the attitudes, interest, motivation, and self-efficacy of Chinese college students with regard to the 17 SDGs (Figure 1) through the Sustainable Development Goals Psychological Inventory (SDGPI) [30].…”