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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Cruz García Lirios, Francisco Rubén Sandoval Vázquez, Wilfrido Isidro Aldana Balderas, Julio E. Crespo
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DOI:10.17265/2160-6579/2026.02.002
Universidad de la Salud, Mexico City, Mexico Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca City, Mexico University of Los Lagos, Chile
Environmental beliefs play a fundamental role in shaping individual responses to environmental challenges and sustainability transitions. In Latin America, environmental problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource degradation have intensified the need to understand the psychological and cognitive factors that influence environmentally responsible behavior. The present study analyzes the structural relationships among environmental concern, ecocentric values, environmental awareness, and pro-environmental behavior through the estimation of a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM). A quantitative, non-experimental, and cross-sectional design was implemented using survey data collected through a structured questionnaire composed of reflective indicators measured on a Likert scale. The measurement model evaluated reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity through outer loadings, composite reliability, and average variance extracted. The structural model was assessed using path coefficients, bootstrapping procedures, and model fit indicators, including the standardized root mean square residual and the normed fit index. The results indicate that environmental concern and ecocentric values significantly influence environmental awareness, while environmental awareness emerges as the strongest predictor of pro-environmental behavior. Additionally, ecocentric values demonstrate both direct and indirect effects on behavioral engagement. The model explains a substantial proportion of variance in environmental awareness and pro-environmental behavior, confirming that environmental beliefs operate through an integrated system of emotional, normative, and cognitive components. These findings highlight the importance of strengthening environmental awareness and ecological value orientations in order to promote sustainable behavioral practices. The study contributes to the literature on environmental psychology and sustainability by providing empirical evidence of the structural mechanisms linking environmental beliefs with pro-environmental behavior in the Latin American context.
environmental beliefs, environmental concern, ecocentric values, environmental awareness, pro-environmental behavior, PLS-SEM; sustainability, Latin America.
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