Promoting Environmental Responsibility Toward Climate Change Among Middle School Students: A Randomized Controlled Study Based on the An Integrated Planned Behavior Theory and Value-Belief-Norm Theory

Climate change is defined as a global public health problem and poses a significant threat. The accelerating rate of climate change negatively impacts human health, animal ecosystems, agricultural diversity, and environmental conditions. The world's climate system has undergone a significant increase in the last century, resulting in various global changes. These include warming of landmasses, rising ocean and sea levels worldwide, thawing of permafrost, earlier onset of plant growth in spring, and changes in the geographical distribution of some plants, animals, and insects. As a result of the changing climate system, extreme weather events such as storms, devastating floods, severe waves, heat waves, and uncontrollable wildfires have begun to increase globally. Climate change also affects human life and health in various ways. It is predicted that malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat-related deaths will increase due to climate change. Furthermore, it threatens fundamental elements of good health such as clean air, safe drinking water, nutritious food supply, and safe shelter, hindering decades of progress in global health. Individual, societal, and institutional efforts are being undertaken to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. When the scope of the studies is examined, there are different examples aimed at raising individual awareness, encouraging community participation, and developing positive environmental behaviors. In the field of public health, the focus is on understanding the effects of climate change on human health and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions that focus on individual behavioral change in combating climate change. This includes nature-based education programs, documentary screenings, problem-solving-based or STEM-based interactive education programs.

In the literature, the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Value-Belief-Norm Theory are frequently used to explain behavioral change and mitigate the effects of climate change. Furthermore, when examining models that integrate the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Value-Belief-Norm Theory to explain intentions towards behavior, the importance of the interaction between values, beliefs, norms, attitudes, and intentions is emphasized. The New Ecological Paradigm approach has been found to be important in studies conducted on the Value-Belief-Norm Theory. Although the Theory of Planned Behavior, the Value-Belief-Norm Theory, and the New Ecological Paradigm are frequently used in studies on climate change, these studies are observational and require intervention studies to explain causal relationships. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Value-Belief-Norm Theory in a program to develop environmental responsibility among middle school students using the new ecological paradigm approach. Combining one paradigm and two theories can offer a framework for structured environmentally focused education.