Environmentalism among Norwegian Youth: Different Paths to Attitudes and Action?

Abstract

Based on a survey of three cohorts of youth in Oslo, aged 14-16 (N 5 11 425), the relevance of gender, class, cultural capital and political orientation to developing a pro-environmental orientation and joining an environmental organization was analysed. Cultural capital appeared to be of importance for developing strong environmental concern as well as for joining an environmental organization, while traditional measures of class background were less relevant. As many boys as girls were strongly concerned about the environment, but the majority of members of organizations were girls. The relationship between a conservative political orientation and strong environmental concern was positive, while the relationship between this political orientation and membership in an environmental organization was negative. Environmental issues now appear to have entered a realm of self-evident 'good things', regardless of political perspective. However, the more comprehensive critical stance found in most environmental organizations is still related to a radical political perspective.

Post-materialism, Religiosity, Political Orientation, Locus of Control and Concern for Global Warming: A Multilevel Analysis Across 40 Nations

“…Previous research has generally found that people with left-leaning orientation are more likely to be involved in pro-environmental actions (e.g. Blankenau et al 2008;Neumayer 2004;Strandbu and Skogen 2000;Biel and Nilsson 2005). In a similar vein, several authors have found that left-wing individuals, such as Democrats in the US and Labor party supporters in the UK or Australia, tend to accept climate change reality compared to right-wing individuals (e.g.…”

Wolves in Context: Using Survey Data to Situate Attitudes Within a Wider Cultural Framework

“…Canadian forest workers and Norwegian rural working-class hunters have been found to agree with environmentalists on forestry issues, while at the same time aggressively denouncing the environmental movement (Skogen 2001;Dunk 1994). Amount of cultural capital was found to be a strong predictor of environmental activism in studies of Norwegian youths (e.g., Strandbu and Skogen 2000).…”

Bears and fears: Cultural capital, geography and attitudes towards large carnivores in Norway

“…Even if the general pattern is not clear, studies have documented that women are more engaged in environmental questions than men (Grendstad 1999); data from Statistics Norway (SSB 2007, 157 (Table 15.11)) show that men are more active in environmental organizations than women. However, many Norwegian studies show that women are more negative towards large carnivores than men (Skogen 1996;Bjerke et al 1998;Strandbu & Skogen 2000). Knutsen et al (1998) have found that women are more negative towards bears and wolverines, but found no gender difference concerning lynxes.…”

“…In a study of environmentalism among Norwegian youths, Strandbu & Skogen (2000) found that cultural capital is more important than class background for the development of young people's environmental orientation. They maintain that class analyses that do not take cultural diversity into consideration are less useful for understanding environmental attitudes and environmental action.…”

“…There are several studies which suggest this. For instance, Norwegian studies have defined and operationalized cultural capital based on studies of the number of metres of books on people's bookshelves (Strandbu & Skogen 2000;Bjerke et al 2003;Skogen & Thrane 2008). This is not as crude as it may sound: following Bourdieu's (1986;1995) theory, cultural capital can be 'in the embodied state, i.e., in the form of long-lasting dispositions of the mind and the body; in the objectified state, in the form of cultural goods (pictures, books, dictionaries, instruments, machines, etc.)'…”