Journal of Business Ethics (2022) 179:369–385
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04835-y
ORIGINAL PAPER
Will “Green” Parents Have “Green” Children? The Relationship Between
Parents’ and Early Adolescents’ Green Consumption Values
Yanping Gong1 · Jian Li1 · Julan Xie1 · Long Zhang2 · Qiuyin Lou1,3
Received: 23 September 2019 / Accepted: 3 May 2021 / Published online: 14 May 2021
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2021
Abstract
Green consumption values have been shown to motivate consumers to engage in green consumption practices. However,
surprisingly little research has examined how green consumption values develop in young people. In the current study, we
employed ecological socialization theory as a framework to investigate the process by which parents’ green consumption
values shape similar values in their young adolescents. In Study 1, data from 722 Chinese families that included an early
adolescent (ages 10 to 15) showed that both mothers’ and fathers’ green consumption values were positively associated with
early adolescents’ green consumption values, and this association was mediated by each parent’s environmentally responsible
consumption behavior. Study 2 replicated the results of Study 1 using two waves of matched parent-adolescent data collected a month apart from another group of 477 Chinese families. Furthermore, Study 2 showed that the mediation process
identified in Study 1 was evident only when there was a close parent–child relationship. These findings have implications
for cultivating the green consumption values of today’s youth. The results also have heuristic value for future research on
the ecological socialization and inter-generational transmission of pro-environmental values.
Keywords Green consumption values · Environmentally responsible consumption behavior · Parent–child relationship ·
Ecological socialization · Inter-generational transmission of values
Introduction
Household consumption today is thought to contribute 60%
of greenhouse gas emissions and 50%-80% of total resource
expenditures (Ivanova et al., 2016). In 2018, China (where
the current study was conducted) produced approximately 13
billion tons of total greenhouse gas emissions (UNEP, 2019),
of which almost 41 million tons were due to the emission
of pollutants (CO, HC, Nox, and PM) from consumers driving motor vehicles (MEEPRC, 2019). Thus, it is imperative
Yanping Gong and Jian Li contributed equally to this work as joint
first authors.
* Julan Xie
julia_xie@csu.edu.cn
1
School of Business, Central South University,
Changsha 410083, China
2
Business School, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
3
International College, Central South University of Forestry
and Technology, Changsha 410004, China
to pursue and identify green ways to transform consumer
behavior to ameliorate these environmental problems.
Previous research showed that green consumption values,
which reflect the self-identities and psychological norms of
green consumers, are the key determinants of green consumption attitudes and behaviors (Haws et al., 2014; Pinto
et al., 2011). Green consumption values have been found to
have a vital influence on consumers’ attitudes about being
green (Tonder, 2020), environmental concerns (Segev,
2015), green purchase intention (Martin & Czellar, 2017),
and green loyalty (Dabija et al., 2018). Cultivating citizens’
green consumption values would be an effective way to
reduce current environmental problems and to obtain longterm environmental benefits (Davies et al., 2020).
Past research suggested that age (Segev, 2015), personal
green attitudes and environmental knowledge (Paço et al.,
2019), self-nature connection (Martin & Czellar, 2017),
vegetarian identity (Fan et al., 2019), culture (Halder et al.,
2020), and generativity (concern for the future) (Shiel et al.,
2020) may influence the formation of green consumption
values. However, previous studies mainly focused on the
green consumption values of adults, without probing the
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development of green consumption values among youths.
Adolescents today (Gen Z) are adept at using digital technologies that provide easy access to information about the
world (Gentina et al., 2018a), and they have already become
one of the largest groups of consumers (Gentina & Muratore, 2012). Many in this group (such as Greta Thunberg,
who began an international movement as a 15-year-old) have
had a large influence in sustainable development around the
world (Bulut et al., 2017). Compared with adulthood and
childhood, adolescence is a critical transition period in the
development of social identity (Erikson, 1968) and beliefs
about ethics (Gentina et al., 2016). Researchers have suggested that early adolescents’ values and beliefs are easily
influenced by the social context (Eccles et al., 1989; Jodl
et al., 2001), and once formed they tend to remain stable
through adulthood (Feather, 1995; Grønhøj & Thøgersen,
2009). Taken together, it is important for promoting citizen’s
green consumption values to explore its development among
adolescents.
Some researchers hold that the values developed early in
life are generated in the family (Schwartz, 1992; Stern et al.,
1995). Parents, especially, are typically the most important
reference group within the family context and the agents
of socialization; they exert a deep influence on children as
they acquire skills, knowledge, beliefs, and values needed to
thrive in the society in which the family is a part (Grønhøj &
Thøgersen, 2009; Ward, 1974). Consistent with this perspective, there have been calls in the field of green consumption
for more research on how green parents cultivate their children’s green consumer values and behaviors (Davies et al.,
2020; White et al., 2019). Therefore, the primary interest
of this study was to provide novel insights into the research
question of whether and how parents transmit their green
consumption values to their adolescents.
Research on socialization, in particular ecological
socialization (Gentina & Muratore, 2012), provides a helpful framework for addressing these questions. Socialization
refers to the processes by which young people are taught the
relevant skills, values, behaviors, and motivations that are
adaptive in a given society (Zigler & Child, 1969). Previous research pointed out that parents’ values could be the
psychological basis for determining their behavior, and their
behavior in turn could act as a proximal socialization force
that promotes the inter-generational transmission of values
(Fischer, 2006; Min et al., 2012). Mothers’ behavior in particular may influence the process of ecological socialization (Grønhøj & Thøgersen, 2009). Moreover, a positive
parent–child relationship increases the probability that adolescents will imitate their parents (Knafo & Schwartz, 2012;
Perez-Brena et al., 2014), and accept their parents’ values
(Döring et al., 2017; Grønhøj & Thøgersen, 2017).
Based on ecological socialization theory (Gentina &
Muratore, 2012), the current study proposed and tested a
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Y. Gong et al.
new conceptual model for understanding the transmission
of green consumption values from parents to adolescents.
In this proposed model, environmentally responsible consumption behavior of parents was considered a mediation
mechanism during the inter-generational transmission of
green consumption values from one generation to the next;
meanwhile, this inter-generational transmission of green
consumption values was hypothesized to be smoother from
mothers to adolescents than from fathers to adolescents, and
more effective under the situation with a close parent–child
relationship.
The research was conducted in Mainland China in samples of parents and early adolescents aged 10–15 years. Chinese Confucian culture emphasizes the value of filial piety
(Xu et al., 2005; Yang & Laroche, 2011), and compared with
Western cultures, it places a stronger value on the inheritance of parental values (Gentina et al., 2018b; Yang et al.,
2014). These elements of Chinese Confucian culture make
China a meaningful context in which to test the inter-generational transmission of green consumer values. Moreover, in
established models of moral development (Kohlberg, 1976),
youth between the ages of 10–15, a period called “early adolescence” (Hong et al., 2016; Valkenburg et al., 2017), begin
to internalize the social norms and expectations of others
to form their own beliefs (Kohlberg, 1984). Therefore, the
youth in this stage of moral development is an important
group in which to study values related to green consumption.
Specifically, two studies were conducted using matched
parent-adolescent data. Study 1 tested the mediation effect of
parents’ environmentally responsible consumption behavior
in the inter-generational transmission of green consumption
values from parents to early adolescents, and the moderation
effect of parent gender on this process. Study 2 replicated
Study 1 with two waves of data collected a month apart from
another group of Chinese families, and further tested the
moderating effect of parent–child relationship.
The findings of this study contribute to the literature in
four ways. First, whereas previous studies examined green
consumption values only in adults, our research is the first
to explore its development among early adolescents. Second, based on ecological socialization theory (Gentina &
Muratore, 2012), this study further advances knowledge of
the mechanism underlying the process by which inter-generational transmission of green consumption values occurs.
Third, our study tests important boundary conditions,
namely parent gender and parent–child relationship, of this
process. Studying these moderators may help reconcile the
inconsistent findings in research on the relationship between
parents’ and adolescents’ pro-environmental values. Finally,
our work complemented previous research focused on the
ecological socialization of pro-environmental values in general by examining adolescents’ ecological socialization of
Will “Green” Parents Have “Green” Children? The Relationship Between Parents’ and Early…
the specific pro-environmental values related to consumerism, namely green consumption values.
The rest of the paper is structured as follows. We begin
by reviewing previous key research findings as the basis of
our hypotheses. Then we introduce the research method and
present the results of hypothesis testing for Study 1 and 2,
respectively. Finally, we discuss the meaning of these results
in the context of the extant literature and the implications of
these results for future research.
Literature Review and Hypotheses
Development
The Inter‑Generational Transmission of Values
during Ecological Socialization
Ecological socialization, also called environmental socialization, is defined as the processes by which young people
learn pro-environment behaviors, skills, attitudes, values,
and knowledge (Gentina & Muratore, 2012). With the worsening of global environmental problems, a growing body of
research has identified the importance of ecological socialization (e.g., Collado et al., 2017; Easterling et al., 1995;
Grønhøj & Thøgersen, 2009). Parents are the primary and
most significant agents of socialization (Ward, 1974), and
parenting practices shape children’s behavior and values
(Darling & Steinberg, 1993).
Numerous studies (see Table 1) have examined ecological socialization in terms of the similarity between parents’
and adolescents’ pro-environmental values. There have
been mixed results. Parents and their adolescents have been
found in some studies to have similar pro-environment
values (Litina et al., 2016; Meeusen, 2014). In other studies, adolescents’ pro-environment values were similar but
weaker than their parents’ (Casaló & Escario, 2016; Grønhøj & Thøgersen, 2009). Moreover, the transmission of proenvironmental values from parents to children was found
to be not always successful (Cipriani et al., 2013). These
inconsistent findings concerning the relationship between
parents’ and adolescents’ environmental values suggest that
the transmission of inter-generational pro-environmental
values could be a complex process, depending on distinct
underlying mechanisms or boundary conditions.
Overall the results suggest that pro-environmental values
related to consumerism may be passed from one generation to the next. Green parents are inclined to teach children the “right” shopping skills and interpret for children
the information they gain from commercial media (John,
1999). Furthermore, parents could influence children’s preferences for sources of consumption information (John, 1999;
Moschis, 1985). After many years of watching how parents
make purchasing decisions, children finally grow up to be
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independent consumers who make their own consumption
decisions (Grønhøj & Thøgersen, 2009).
Parents’ Environmentally Responsible Consumption
Behavior and the Inter‑Generational Transmission
of Green Consumption Values
Parents’ environmentally responsible consumption behavior
might play a key role in the transmission of green consumption values from parents to early adolescents. Environmentally responsible consumption behavior can be defined as
behavior that could reduce the negative influence that consumption might bring to the environment (Gupta & Agrawal,
2018). This behavior can be conceptualized as an example
of “socially responsible consumption” (Webster & Frederick, 1975; Yan & She, 2011) and an explicit enaction of
consumer ethics (Muncy & Vitell, 1992). Environmentally
responsible consumption behavior includes many types of
activities, such as recycling, buying environmentally friendly
products, collaborative consumption, and need-based purchases (Follows & Jobber, 2000; Gupta & Agrawal, 2018).
Values are an important basis for the principles and standards by which people make decisions (Pinto et al. 2011;
Schwartz, 1992). People’s values can be represented by their
behavior (Dietz et al. 2005). For example, a person’s action
of “going to church” likely reflects their religious values
(Grønhøj & Thøgersen, 2012). Previous studies revealed
that social-oriented values and general environmental values were driving forces in people’s engagement in environmentally responsible consumption behavior (Grønhøj &
Thøgersen, 2009; Pinto et al., 2011).
Green consumption values have the same prosocial quality that characterizes social-oriented values (Haws et al.,
2014). There is preliminary evidence of an association
between green consumption values and environmentally
responsible behaviors (Haws et al., 2014). For example,
green consumption values appear to promote the intention to
buy organic clothing (Varshneya et al., 2017), an example of
environmentally responsible consumption behavior (Gupta
& Agrawal, 2018).
Parents’ socialization of children’s values likely begins
through parents’ modeling of key behaviors (Min et al.,
2012), as parents are the people who interact with children
initially and most frequently. However, parents’ values
are too abstract for children to learn directly (Grønhøj &
Thøgersen, 2012), whereas parents’ behavior, which reflects
their values, can be emulated by children. Through this imitation process, children could appreciate the benefits of this
behavior and understand their parents’ values. With repeated
imitation, children take on their parents’ values and finally
internalize those values as their own (Fischer, 2006). Several studies have shown that children’s imitation of parents’
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Cross-section survey matched data
(parents & adolescents)
Casaló and Escario
Litina et al
Meeusen
Cipriani et al
Grønhøj and Thøgersen Cross-section survey matched data
(parents & children)
Grønhøj and Thøgersen Cross-section survey matched data
(parents & children)
2016
2016
2014
2013
2012
2009
Major Findings
N = 95,008, Adolescents (15 years
old) 16 countries and regions
(Bulgaria, Colombia, Denmark,
Germany, Hong Kong etc.)
The concern for the environment
can transmit from parents to
children. In addition, girls show
capability to be more influenced
by their parents than boys
N = 2855 migrants in 45 countries; With the help of the cultural forces
inherited by immigrants, environmental values can be successfully
transmitted from parents to their
offspring
There was a significant interN = 3426, Adolescents (15 years
generational transmission of
old) N = 2085, adolescent-mother
environmental concern, no gender
and adolescent-father dyads
difference appeared in that process
Belgium
N = 76 (38 children and 38 parents) There was no sufficient evidence to
Washington, DC
support that the pro-social values
could transmit from parents to
their offspring
N = 601 families; adolescents (aver- Parents play an important role in the
intergenerational transmission of
age age is 16.9), With father and
pro-environmental practice
mother Denmark
N = 601 families; adolescents (75% There is a positive relationship
between parents’ and adolescents’
above 15), With father and mother
pro-environmental commitment,
Denmark
which contains values, attituded
and behaviors. Adolescents show
lower environmental concerns
than parents
Sample Details, Location
Partially Supported
Supported
Not supported
Supported no gender differences
Supported
Supported more strongly for girls
Support Values Transmission or not
We found no studies on the intergenerational transmission of values practices related specifically to green consumption values. The studies in this table were on the intergenerational transmission of values related to general environmental concerns, with one exception (Cipriani et al., 2013 studied the transmission of pro-social values)
Experiment matched data (parents
& children)
Cross-section survey matched data
(parents & adolescents)
Cross-section survey
Method
Published Year Author
Table 1 Studies related to transmission of environmental values and practices: Descriptive information, major findings, and support for the assumption of intergenerational transmission
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Will “Green” Parents Have “Green” Children? The Relationship Between Parents’ and Early…
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behaviors could in turn create congruence in the values of
parents and children (Min et al., 2012; Starrels, 1992).
Overall, the assumption is that parents’ values influence
their parenting behavior, so that children are socialized to
show behaviors and values that are similar to their parents’
(Darling & Steinberg, 1993). Specific to the present study,
parents with high green consumption values could teach
their adolescents how and what to consume by exhibiting
environmentally responsible consumption behavior, and
this behavior can be directly observed and imitated by early
adolescents. Finally, early adolescents could internalize their
parents’ values and grow up to be independent consumers
with similar green consumption values.
behaviors, and attitudes (Grønhøj & Thøgersen, 2009). Specific to the present study, mothers’ environmentally responsible consumption behavior might be more likely to be
observed and imitated by their early adolescents compared
to fathers’ similar behaviors. Based on these arguments, we
propose a moderated meditation effect.
Hypothesis 1 Parents’ green consumption values will be
positively associated with early adolescents’ green consumption values through parents’ environmentally responsible
consumption behavior.
The Moderating Effect of Parent–Child Relationship
The Moderating Role of Parents’ Gender
Parents’ values influence the development of their offspring’s
similar values (Grønhøj & Thøgersen, 2009). However, the
effectiveness of this transmission likely varies from family
to family. One relevant question is whether the transmission of values is stronger from mothers to children or from
fathers to children. Although fathers play an important role
in shaping their children’s values (Prioste et al., 2016; Roest
et al., 2009), it appears that mothers have greater influence
(Grønhøj & Thøgersen, 2009; Knafo & Schwartz, 2012).
Given societal expectations about gender roles, mothers
and fathers occupy different roles in the family (Sallinen
et al., 2004), and this may contribute to gendered patterns
of investment in parenting (Prioste et al., 2016). It seems
that mothers are more likely than fathers to occupy the
role of nurturing children (Cech & Blair-Loy, 2019), and
they are likely to spend more time than fathers accompanying their children (Sallinen et al., 2004; Shan & Hawkins,
2014). Thus, a mother’s behaviors might be more likely to
be observed and imitated by children (Profe & Wild, 2017).
Qualitative research has shown that mothers’ nurturance creates opportunities for children’s incidental learning through
imitation, and increases children’s willingness to imitate
mothers’ behavior (Mussen & Parker, 1965). Additionally,
mothers’ companionship with children, including the feeling of love, is seen as a pervasive quality of mother–child
relationships (Yarrow & Scott, 1972) and this positive emotional context could encourage children’s identification with
the mother (Renk et al., 2003) and a greater willingness to
imitate her behavior (Knafo & Schwartz, 2012).
As for the process of ecological socialization, mothers have been found to act as the major socializing agent
in the formation of adolescent’s pro-environmental values,
Hypothesis 2 Parents’ gender will moderate the mediation
effect of parents’ environmentally responsible consumption
behavior in the association between parents’ and early adolescents’ green consumption values; specifically, the second
link in this mediation pathway will be stronger for mothers
than fathers.
The inter-generational transmission of green consumption
values from parents to early adolescents might vary depending on the positivity of parent–child relationship, which
can be judged by the attributes of closeness, influence, and
attachment (Lutz et al., 2009). A positive parent–child relationship could be of paramount importance in the effectiveness of children’s socialization in the family environment
(Duncan et al., 2009; Grusec & Hastings, 2014).
It has been found that parent–child relationship was positively associated with adolescents’ formation of pro-environmental values similar to those of their parents (Grønhøj &
Thøgersen, 2017). A close parent–child relationship might
increase the chance that family members talk about their
values (Roest et al., 2009), which could help adolescents
to understand their parents’ values (Döring et al., 2017). A
close parent–child relationship might also increase children’s
identification with and admiration for parents, resulting in
stronger motivation and willingness to imitate their parents
(Knafo & Schwartz, 2012).
By contrast, a distant parent–child relationship has been
shown to constrain the fulfillment of parents’ socialization goals for their children (Tsai et al., 2015) as well as
the smooth transmission of values (Taris, 2000). A distant
parent–child relationship could also decrease children’s
identification with parents (Walters & Stinnett, 1971) and
their willingness to imitate parents, resulting in incongruence between parents and children in terms of their values
and beliefs (Szapocznik & Kurtines, 1993). Based on these
studies, we propose another moderated mediation effect
hypothesis.
Hypothesis 3 Parent–child relationship will moderate the
mediation effect of parents’ environmentally responsible
consumption behavior in the association between parents’
and early adolescents’ green consumption values; specifically, the second link in this mediation pathway will be
stronger when there is a close parent–child relationship.
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Y. Gong et al.
The hypothesized model can be seen in Fig. 1, and the
three hypotheses were tested by two studies. Specifically,
Study 1 tested Hypotheses 1 and 2. Study 2 replicated Study
1 and in addition tested Hypothesis 3.
Study 1
Methods
Participants and Procedures
Matched parent-adolescent data in a convenience sample of
Chinese families were collected by survey method. Firstly,
with the help of teachers, we recruited students from eight
middle schools in central and south China. These early adolescents were asked during their study period to complete
a questionnaire about their demographic information and
green consumption values. They were then asked to take
home an envelope with a questionnaire and an invitation
letter asking for one (either) parent to complete the survey.
The letter explained the research background, purpose, and
significance of the study, and explained that the data would
be anonymous. The letter also provided instructions for completing questionnaires about their demographic information,
green consumption values, and environmentally responsible consumption behavior. To prevent the adolescents and
teachers from viewing the responses, parents were asked to
put the completed questionnaire back into the envelope and
then seal it. The next day, the adolescents took the sealed
envelope with the completed parent questionnaire to the
school and handed it over to our researchers. Adolescents
and parents participated voluntarily. They were assured that
the data were only used for research purposes. This research
was approved by the local Committee for Ethical Scientific
Research.
There were 894 early adolescents who completed questionnaires in their classrooms. All took home invitation letters to their parents, and 722 parents agreed to participate,
with a response rate of 80.76%. The final sample constituted 722 parent-adolescent pairs. Of the adolescents, 333
(46.12%) were girls, and 389 (53.88%) were boys. Their
ages ranged from 10 to 15 (M = 12.89; SD = 0.75), with
78.10% (564) of the youth being age 12 or 13. Of the parents, 347 (48.06%) were fathers, and 375 (51.94%) were
mothers. Parents’ ages ranged from 30 to 60 (M = 40.96;
SD = 4.22), with 56.51% (408) of the parents being aged
40–49. There were a similar number of families with two or
more children (354, 49.03%) and with only one child (368,
50.97%). Most families (61.91%) earned 50,000–150,000
RMB (about 7100–21,200 US Dollars) per year, and 45.15%
of the parents had graduated from university with higher
education qualifications. Demographic information is shown
in Table 2.
Measures
All scales used in this study were well developed in prior
research. Translation and back-translation methods were
used to translate English scales into Chinese.
Green Consumption Values (adolescents and parents)
This study used the six-item GREEN scale (Haws et al.,
2014) to assess green consumption values. The adolescent
and the parent each completed the scale about their values.
All items are rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from
(1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree. Example items
are “I consider the potential environmental impact of my
actions when making many of my decisions” and “My purchase habits are affected by my concern for our environment.” The average of all items was used as the final score,
with higher scores representing stronger green consumption
values. For parents, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.89. For adolescents, it was 0.84.
Environmentally Responsible Consumption Behavior
(parents)
Environmentally responsible consumption behavior was
assessed with six items from the Socially Responsible Consumption Behavior Scale (Antil, 1984). All items reflect
concern about the environment with consumption. An
example item is “All consumers should be interested in the
environmental consequences of the products they purchase.”
Items are rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from (1)
Fig. 1 Conceptual model
Parent-child
relationship
Parents' green
consumption values
Parents' environmentally
responsible consumption behavior
Early adolescents' green
consumption values
Parents' gender
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Will “Green” Parents Have “Green” Children? The Relationship Between Parents’ and Early…
Table 2 Participants’ demographic information in Study 1 (n = 722)
Variables
Parents’ gender
Male
Female
Adolescents’ gender
Male
Female
Parents’ age
30–39
40–49
50–60
Adolescents’ age
10–11
12–13
14–15
Parents’ education level
High school diploma
Junior college degree
Bachelor degree
Master degree and above
Family annual income (Unit: Yuan RMB)
< 50,000
50,000–100,000
100,000–150,000
150,000–250,000
> 250,000
Family structure
Only child
More than one child
Adolescents’ grade
First Year Junior High School
Second Year Junior High School
Frequency
Percentage
347
375
48.06
51.94
389
333
53.88
46.12
287
408
27
39.75
56.51
3.74
16
564
142
2.21
78.12
19.67
396
167
146
13
54.85
23.13
20.22
1.80
138
262
185
94
43
19.11
36.29
25.62
13.02
5.96
368
354
50.97
49.03
356
366
49.31
50.69
strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree. Parents completed
the scale about their own environmentally responsible consumption behaviors. Scores are averaged across items, with
higher scores representing a higher likelihood of engaging
in environmentally responsible consumption behavior. In the
current sample, Cronbach’s alpha for this measure was 0.88.
Control Variable
Parents’ education level (1 = high school diploma, 2 = junior college degree, 3 = bachelor’s degree, 4 = master’s
degree and above) was included as a control variable in
tests of the conceptual model. Parents with more education might have more knowledge about the environment
(Graafland, 2017), leading them to purchase and use more
environmentally responsible products. Witnessing this
375
behavior might influence the formation of adolescents’
green values (Min et al., 2012).
Analysis Strategy
The SPSS PROCESS macro is a widely used tool that
can test moderating and mediating effects as well as their
combination in regression-based analyses (Hayes, 2012;
Xie et al., 2018). We employed the procedures provided
by Hayes (2012) and Preacher et al., (2007) to test all
hypotheses. Specifically, PROCESS Model 4 was used to
test the mediation effect (Hypothesis 1). PROCESS Model
14 which is recommended to test the specific example of
moderated mediation with the second link being moderated, was used to test the moderated mediation effect
(Hypothesis 2). Bootstrap-based 95% CI (confidence intervals) with bias correction for indirect effects were generated with 5000 iterations.
Results
Descriptive Statistics
Means, standard deviations, and correlations among
focal variables are presented in Table 3. Parents’ green
consumption values were positively related to early adolescents’ green consumption values (r = 0.25, p < 0.001)
and to parents’ environmentally responsible consumption behavior (r = 0.69, p < 0.001). Meanwhile, parents’
environmentally responsible consumption behavior was
positively related to early adolescents’ green consumption values (r = 0.26, p < 0.001). These results provided
preliminary support for Hypothesis 1.
Moreover, as for the potential control variables, parents’ educational level was positively associated with their
own environmentally responsible consumption behavior
(r = 0.11, p < 0.01) and with their children’s green consumption values (r = 0.12, p < 0.01). In addition, the kurtosis of the distribution of early adolescents’ green consumption values was − 0.44 (Z = − 1.43, p > 0.05) and the
skewness was equal to 0.03 (Z = 0.21, p > 0.05), indicating
that the distribution approached normality. The kurtosis of
the distribution of parents’ environmentally responsible
consumption behavior was − 0.19 (Z = − 1.15, p > 0.05)
and the skewness was − 0.25 (Z = 1.38, p > 0.05), suggesting that the distribution approached normality.
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Y. Gong et al.
Table 3 Descriptive statistics, correlations and validation in Study 1 (n = 722)
Variables
M
SD
CR
AVE
1
2
3
4
1. Parent’s green consumption values
2. PERCB
3. Early adolescent’ s green consumption values
4. Parent’s gender
5. Parent’s educational level
3.88
3.88
3.78
0.48
1.69
0.68
0.70
0.74
0.50
0.85
0.89
0.87
0.85
–
–
0.53
0.52
0.48
–
–
0.69***
0.25***
− 0.10**
0.03
0.26***
− 0.07
0.11**
− 0.01
0.12**
0.14***
M Mean, SD Standard deviation, CR Composite reliability, AVE Average variance extracted, PERCB Parent’s environmentally responsible consumption behavior
**p < 0.01
***p < 0.001
Common Method Variance
We adopted Harman’s single-factor test and an unmeasured
latent common method factor (ULCMF) to assess common
method variance (Bagozzi & Yi, 1990; Podsakoff et al.,
2003). Specifically, the results of the exploratory factor
analysis showed that the amount of variance explained by
the first principal component was 19.92%. This value was
significantly less than the 50% benchmark, suggesting no
serious problem with common method variance. Moreover, the results of the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)
(see Table 4) showed that the fit of the three-factor model
(χ2/df = 3.06, CFI = 0.936, TLI = 0.914, RMSEA = 0.007)
was significantly better than that of the single-factor model
(∆χ2 = 1119.23, ∆df = 3, p < 0.001), and the fit indices of the
three-factor model did not differ from those of the measurement model with ULCMF (∆CFI = 0.001, ∆TLI = 0.002,
∆RMSEA = 0.001). Together, the results indicated that the
common method variance of the measures was minimal.
Convergent and Discriminant Validity
Convergent validity was tested based on the standardized
factor loadings, the average variance extracted (AVE), and
composite reliability (CR) (Hair et al., 2006). The standardized factor loadings of all items were greater than 0.50,
ranging from 0.56–0.85. The AVE values of three factors
ranged from 0.48 to 0.53, and the CR values of three factors ranged from 0.85–0.89 (see Table 3). Hair et al. (2006)
Table 4 Fit indices for the
measurement models in Study 1
recommended that the value of AVE should be greater than
0.50 and the value of CR should exceed 0.70 to establish
convergent validity. Although the AVE value of early adolescents’ green consumption values is 0.48, which is slightly
lower than 0.50, its standardized factor loadings and CR
value were higher than the recommended value. Together,
these indicators provided support for the convergent validity of the measures. We also tested discriminant validity
using the criterion that the square root of each AVE value
was greater than corresponding inter-construct correlations
(Fornell & Larcker, 1981). The discriminant validity was
established since the square roots of the AVE value ranged
from 0.69–0.73 and exceeded any corresponding inter-construct correlations.
Hypothesis Testing
Hypothesis 1 predicted that parents’ green consumption values would be positively associated with early adolescents’
green consumption values via parents’ environmentally
responsible consumption behavior. As Table 5 shows, after
controlling for parents’ educational level, parents’ green consumption values were positively associated with their own
environmentally responsible consumption behavior (Eq. 2,
B = 0.71, p < 0.001) and their adolescents’ green consumption values (Eq. 1, B = 0.27, p < 0.001). Moreover, the relationship between parents’ environmentally responsible consumption behavior and early adolescents’ green consumption
values was also significantly positive (Eq. 3, B = 0.16,
Model
χ2
df
CFI
TLI
RMSEA
Three-factor model (PGCV, PERCB, AGCV)
Single-factor model (PGCV + PERCB + AGCV)
Common method factor model (PGCV, PERCB,
AGCV, ULCMF)
404.45
1523.68
345.76
132
135
115
0.936
0.709
0.937
0.914
0.670
0.916
0.007
0.119
0.006
PGCV Parent’s green consumption values, PERCB Parent’s environmentally responsible consumption
behavior, AGCV Early adolescent’s green consumption values, ULCMF An unmeasured latent common
method factor
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377
Will “Green” Parents Have “Green” Children? The Relationship Between Parents’ and Early…
Table 5 Regression results for
mediation effect and moderated
mediation effect in Study 1
(n = 722)
Predictors
Parent’s educational Level
Parent’s green consumption values
PERCB
Parent’s gender
PERCB × Parent’s gender
R2
Equation 1
(Early adolescents’ green
consumption
values)
Equation 2
(PERCB)
Equation 3
(Early adolescents’ green
consumption
values)
Equation 4
(Early adolescents’ green
consumption
values)
B
B
B
B
SE
**
0.09
0.27***
0.03
0.04
0.07***
SE
**
0.07
0.71***
0.02
0.03
0.49***
SE
**
0.08
0.15**
0.16**
0.09***
0.03
0.05
0.05
SE
**
0.08
0.15**
0.16**
0.00
-0.03
0.09***
0.03
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.08
PERCB Parent’s environmentally responsible consumption behavior
**p < .01
***p < .001
p < 0.01). The indirect effect was significant (effect = 0.12,
95% CI = [0.05, 0.19]) and accounted for 43.28% of the total
effect. Hypothesis 1 was fully supported.
Hypothesis 2 was that the second link in the mediation
pathway (the association between parents’ environmentally
responsible consumption behavior and early adolescents’
green consumption values) would be stronger for mothers
than fathers. However, as Table 5 shows, after controlling
for parents’ educational level, the effect of the interaction
between parents’ environmentally responsible consumption
behavior and parents’ gender on early adolescents’ green
consumption values was not significant (Eq. 4, B = − 0.03,
p > 0.05). The result failed to support Hypothesis 2.
Study 2
Study 2 had a dual purpose. The first purpose was to replicate the results of Study 1 in another sample of two-wave
matched parent-adolescent pairs. The second purpose was
to test the moderation effect of the parent–child relationship
in the process of the intergeneration transmission of green
consumption values (Hypothesis 3).
Methods
Participants and Procedures
Participants were another group of early adolescents and one
of their parents. As in Study 1, early adolescents completed
paper and pencil questionnaires in their classrooms. Unlike
in Study 1, in Study 2, questionnaires were not completed at
the same time but were instead administered a month apart.
At both time points, the adolescents took an invitation letter
and questionnaire home for a parent to complete (the same
parent at both time points). They then brought the completed
questionnaire back to school in a sealed envelope. Participants who completed the questionnaire received a small gift
in return.
At the first time point, parents were asked to report their
green consumption values and demographics, and youth
were asked to report their parent–child relationship and
demographics. The 900 youth participants invited one parent to participate, and 542 parents agreed, resulting in a
response rate of 60.22%. These 542 parents were invited to
complete a second questionnaire about a month later, and
477 parents agreed, with a response rate of 88.01%. In these
families, adolescents were asked to complete a questionnaire on their green consumption values and parents were
asked to report their environmentally responsible consumption behavior. The final analyses were conducted on data
from 477 families in which parents and youth completed all
questionnaires.
As shown in Table 6, of the 477 early adolescents in
the final sample, 51.78% were girls, and 25.58% were only
children. Their ages ranged from 10 to 15 (M = 12.43,
SD = 0.64). Of the 477 parents, 56.39% were fathers. Parents’ ages ranged from 30 to 60 (M = 40.23, SD = 4.53).
Almost 60% of the families had an annual household income
of 50,000–150,000 RMB (about 7100–21,200 US Dollars).
All parents had at least a high school education, and 15.30%
of the parents had a college degree.
Measures
Green Consumption Values (adolescents and parents)
As in Study 1, we implemented the GREEN scale to assess
the green consumption values of adolescents and parents
13
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Y. Gong et al.
Table 6 Participants’ demographic information in Study 2 (n = 477)
Variables
Parents’ gender
Male
Female
Adolescents’ gender
Male
Female
Parents’ age
30–39
40–49
50–60
Adolescents’ age
10–11
12–13
14–15
Parents’ education level
High School Diploma
Junior College Degree
Bachelor Degree
Master Degree and above
Family annual income (Unit: Yuan RMB)
< 50,000
50,000–100,000
100,000–150,000
150,000–250,000
> 250,000
Family structure
Only Child
More than One Child
Adolescents’ grade
First Year Junior High School
Second Year Junior High School
Frequency Percentage
269
208
56.39
43.61
230
247
48.22
51.78
224
234
19
46.96
49.06
3.98
16
440
21
3.35
92.24
4.40
Analysis Strategy
344
73
53
7
72.12
15.30
11.11
1.47
116
187
99
43
32
24.32
39.20
20.76
9.01
6.71
PROCESS Model 4 was used to test Hypothesis 1, and the
PROCESS Model 14 was employed to test the moderated
mediation effect in which the second link of the mediation
pathway was moderated (Hypotheses 2 and 3). The method
of generating confidence intervals for indirect effects in
Study 2 is the same as in Study 1.
122
355
25.58
74.42
291
186
61.01
38.99
(Haws et al., 2014). In Study 2, the Cronbach’s alphas were
0.87 for parents (self-reported at Time 1) and 0.91 for adolescents (self-reported at Time 2), showing good reliability.
Environmentally Responsible Consumption Behavior
(parents, self‑reported at Time 2)
Study 2 used the same scale as in Study 1 to measure parents’ environmentally responsible consumption behavior. In
this study, the Cronbach’s alpha was 0.86, indicating good
reliability.
Parent–Child Relationship (adolescents, reported at Time 1)
A four-item scale developed by Resnick et al. (1997) was
used to assess the quality of parent–child relationship from
13
the adolescent’s perspective. The items were rated from 1
(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Two example items
were “I am close to my mother [father].” and “I am satisfied
with my relationship with my mother [father].” This scale
has been widely used to measure the quality of parent–child
relationships (Lloyd-Richardson et al., 2002; Niehaus et al.,
2019), and it has shown good reliability and validity in Chinese samples (Liau et al., 2015). In the current study, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.82.
Control Variable
As in Study 1, parent education level was included as a control variable.
Results
Descriptive Statistics
Table 7 shows the means, standard deviations and correlations of study variables in Study 2. As expected, parental
green consumption values were positively correlated with
parental environmentally responsible consumption behavior (r = 0.31, p < 0.001), and early adolescents’ green consumption values (r = 0.27, p < 0.001). Also, parents’ environmentally responsible consumption behavior was positively
associated with early adolescents’ green consumption values
(r = 0.28, p < 0.001). In addition, the kurtosis of the distribution of early adolescents’ scores on the measure of green
consumption values was -0.14 (Z = − 1.27, p > 0.05) and
the skewness was 0.28 (Z = 1.56, p > 0.05). The kurtosis
of the distribution of parents’ scores for environmentally
responsible consumption behavior was − 0.32 (Z = − 1.45,
p > 0.05) and the skewness was 0.78 (Z = 1.81, p > 0.05).
Scores on each of these two focal variables approached a
normal distribution.
Common Method Variance
As in Study 1, Study 2 adopted Harman’s single-factor test
and an unmeasured latent common method factor model
(ULCMF) to test common method variance (Bagozzi &
Yi, 1990; Podsakoff et al., 2003). The results of Harman’s
379
Will “Green” Parents Have “Green” Children? The Relationship Between Parents’ and Early…
Table 7 Descriptive statistics, correlations and validation in Study 2 (n = 477)
Variables
M
SD
CR
AVE
1
2
3
1. Parent’s green consumption values
2. PERCB
3. Early adolescent’s green consumption values
4. Parent–child relationship
5. Parent’s gender
6. Parent’s educational level
3.89
3.36
3.72
4.48
0.44
1.42
0.71
0.69
0.84
0.69
0.50
0.75
0.87
0.86
0.92
0.84
–
–
0.53
0.51
0.64
0.55
–
–
0.31***
0.27***
0.08
− 0.13**
0.05
0.28***
− 0.03
.08
− 0.08
− 0.03
0.01
0.08
4
5
− 0.12**
0.01
0.03
M Mean, SD Standard deviation, CR Composite reliability, AVE Average variance extracted, PERCB Parents’ environmentally responsible consumption behavior
** p < 0.01
***p < 0.001
single-factor test showed that the first factor accounted
for 34.74% of the total variance, which was less than
50%, indicating that the common method variance of the
measures was minimal. As Table 8 shows, results of the
CFA showed that the fit indices in the four-factor model
(χ2/df = 2.49, CFI = 0.953, TLI = 0.939, RMSEA = 0.055)
were significantly better than those of the single-factor
model (∆χ2 = 2726.82, ∆df = 6, p < 0.001) and were not
significantly different from those of the measurement
model with the ULCMF (∆CFI = 0.000, ∆TLI = 0.002,
∆RMSEA = 0.002). Thus, there was consistent evidence
that the common method variance was minimal.
Convergent and Discriminant Validity
We assessed standardized factor loadings, average variance
extracted (AVE) and composite reliability (CR) to evaluate the convergent validity of each measure (Hair et al.,
2006). The CFA results showed that the standardized factor
loadings of each focal variable were greater than 0.51. The
AVE of all factors ranged from 0.51–0.64, exceeding the
0.50 threshold, and the CR of the focus variables ranged
from 0.84–0.92, exceeding 0.70 (see Table 7). These results
together indicated that the measures had good convergent
validity. Additionally, the results showed that the square
roots of the AVE ranged from 0.71–0.80 and exceeded any
corresponding correlation coefficient, which indicates fairly
Table 8 Fit indices for the
measurement models in Study 2
good discriminant validity. Therefore, the measurement
model in Study 2 had acceptable validity.
Hypothesis Testing
As shown in Table 9, the multiple linear regression results
showed that after controlling the parent’s education level,
parents’ green consumption values was positively associated with parents’ environmentally responsible consumption
behavior (Eq. 6, B = 0.30, p < 0.001) and early adolescents’
green consumption values (Eq. 5, B = 0.32, p < 0.001). In
addition, parents’ environmentally responsible consumption
behavior was positively related to early adolescents’ green
consumption values (Eq. 7, B = 0.27, p < 0.001). The results
further indicated a significant mediating effect of parents’
environmentally responsible consumption behavior in the
relationship between parents’ green consumption values
and children’s green consumption values (effect = 0.08, 95%
CI = [0.04, 0.13]). Therefore, Hypothesis 1 was supported.
Hypothesis 2 suggested that the second link in the mediating pathway of parents’ environmentally responsible
consumption behavior would be stronger for mothers than
fathers. However, as Table 9 shows, the effect of the interaction between parents’ environmentally responsible consumption behavior and parents’ gender on early adolescents’ green
consumption values was not significant (Eq. 8, B = − 0.19,
p > 0.05). The result failed to support Hypothesis 2.
Model
χ2
df
CFI
TLI
RMSEA
Four-factor model (PGCV, PERCB, AGCV, PCR)
Single-factor model (PGCV + PERCB + AGCV + PCR)
Common method factor model (PGCV, PERCB, AGCV,
PCR, ULCMF)
505.76
3232.58
423.36
203
209
182
0.953
0.413
0.953
0.939
0.352
0.941
0.055
0.172
0.053
PGCV Parent’s green consumption values, PERCB Parent’s environmentally responsible consumption
behavior, AGCV Early adolescent’s green consumption values, PCR Parent–Child Relationship, ULCMF,
An unmeasured latent common method factor
13
380
Y. Gong et al.
Table 9 Regression results for mediation effect and moderated mediation effect in Study 2 (n = 477)
Predictors
Parent’s educational Level
Parent’s green consumption values
PERCB
Parent’s gender
PERCB × Parent’s gender
PCR
PERCB × PCR
R2
Equation 5 (Early
adolescents’ green
consumption
values)
Equation 6
(PERCB)
B
SE
B
0.08
0.32***
0.05
0.05
− 0.01
0.02
0.30*** 0.04
0.08***
SE
0.10***
Equation 7 (Early
adolescents’ green
consumption
values)
Equation 8 (Early
adolescents’ green
consumption
values)
Equation 9 (Early
adolescents’
green consumption values)
B
SE
B
SE
B
SE
0.09
0.24***
0.27***
0.05
0.05
0.06
0.08
0.23***
0.30***
0.01
− 0.19
0.05
0.05
0.06
0.07
0.11
0.08
0.22***
0.28***
0.05
0.05
0.06
0.06
0.27**
0.15***
0.05
0.08
0.12***
0.13***
Parents’ gender: 1 = male; 0 = female
PERCB Parent’s environmentally responsible consumption behavior, PCR Parent–child relationship; PERCB × PCR Parent’s environmentally
responsible consumption behavior × Parent–child relationship, PERCB × Parent’s gender Parents’ environmentally responsible consumption
behavior × Parent’s gender
**p < 0.01
***p < 0.001
Discussion
The topic of green consumption values has aroused great
interest among consumer ethics researchers (e.g., Haws
et al., 2014; Maniatis, 2016; Segev, 2015; Varshneya et al.,
2017). However, most studies have focused on adults’
green consumption values, with adolescents’ values being
13
5.00
Adolescents' green consumption values
Hypothesis 3 posited that the mediating effect of parents’
environmentally responsible consumption behavior would be
moderated by parent–child relationship. As Table 9 shows,
the effect of the interaction between parents’ environmentally responsible consumption behavior and parent–child
relationship on early adolescents’ green consumption
values was significant (Eq. 9, B = 0.27, p < 0.01). Simple
slopes tests showed that parents’ environmentally responsible consumption behavior was significantly associated
with early adolescents’ green consumption values when
there was a close parent–child relationship (Bsimple = 0.42,
95% CI = [0.28, 0.55]), but was not significant when there
was a distant parent–child relationship (B simple = 0.08,
95% CI = [− 0.06, 0.21]). Figure 2 shows the interaction
plot. Furthermore, the simple mediating effect of parents’
environmentally responsible consumption behavior was
significant when there was a close parent–child relationship (effect = 0.12, 95% CI = [0.07, 0.19]), but it was not
significant when the parent–child relationship was distant
(effect = 0.03, 95% CI = [− 0.04, 0.08]). The index of moderated mediation was significant (index = 0.08, 95% CI = [0.03,
0.16]). Taken together, these results supported Hypothesis 3.
4.80
Parent-child relationship (high)
4.60
Parent-child relationship (low)
4.40
4.20
4.00
3.80
3.60
3.40
3.20
3.00
PERCB (low)
PERCB (high)
Fig. 2 Moderating effect of parent–child relationship on the influence
of parents’ environmentally responsible consumption behavior on
early adolescents’ green consumption values. PECRB represents parents’ environmentally responsible consumption behavior
under-studied. It is important to study youth in this age
group because adolescence is a critical period in the development of morality, ethical beliefs, and values (Gentina
et al., 2016). Our study addressed this research gap by examining the important role of parents’ green consumption values and behaviors on the development of early adolescents’
green consumption values.
The literature on socialization, and in particular ecological socialization (Gentina & Muratore, 2012), provided
the conceptual framework for this study. Results based on
two samples of Chinese families documented a positive
Will “Green” Parents Have “Green” Children? The Relationship Between Parents’ and Early…
association between parents’ and early adolescents’ green
consumption values. Furthermore, parents’ environmentally
responsible consumption behavior was found to be a feasible
path by facilitating the transmission of green consumption
values from parents to adolescents. A close parent–child
relationship was shown to strengthen this mediating effect.
Taken together, these findings suggest that parents’ green
consumption values and environmentally responsible consumption behavior are important forces in early adolescents’
socialization of green consumption values.
Theoretical Contributions
The theoretical contributions are four-fold. First, this study
is the first to examine the socialization forces that shape
early adolescents’ green consumption values, and as such
it complements the prior narrow research focus on adults’
green consumption values (Maniatis, 2016; Paço et al., 2019;
Segev, 2015; Shiel et al., 2020). This theory-based investigation produced strong empirical evidence of the intergenerational transmission of green consumption values from
parents to youth. The findings lay the groundwork for further
research on the socialization forces that shape early adolescents’ green consumption values in the family context.
Second, this study deepens our knowledge of the mechanism underlying early adolescents’ socialization of green
consumption values in the family context. In line with
previous research showing that the family’s (e.g., parents’
and adolescents’) communication patterns could influence
adolescents’ preference for information sources (Grønhøj
& Thøgersen, 2017; Meeusen, 2014) and that the family’s
communication could be affected by the adolescent’s perception of parents’ behavior (Moschis, 1985), our findings suggest that parents’ environmentally responsible consumption
behavior is a vital mediation mechanism during the transmission of green consumption values from parents to adolescents. Parents’ environmentally responsible consumption
behaviors are a visible ecological socialization force that
shapes early adolescents’ green consumption values.
Third, past research produced inconsistent findings on the
transmission of pro-environmental values from parents to
adolescents (Casaló & Escario, 2016; Cipriani et al., 2013;
Grønhøj & Thøgersen, 2009), and our results suggest that
this inconsistency could be due in part to boundary conditions that were not taken into account in earlier research.
We found that parent–child relationship was an important
boundary condition in the transmission of green consumption values from parents to early adolescents. Ongoing parent–child communication and parent–child interactions have
been shown to be key socializing factors that increase the
possibility of family members’ discussion of values and
knowledge related to environmentalism (Meeusen, 2014).
381
In line with this idea, our research demonstrated that a close
parent–child relationship could strengthen the effect of parents’ environmentally responsible consumption behavior
on the formation of adolescents’ green consumption values.
Parent–child relationship might be important in reconciling
the inconsistent findings in the relationship between parents’
and early adolescents’ environmental values.
In addition to parent–child relationship, we also tested
parent gender as a possible boundary condition of the
transmission of green consumption values from parents to
youth. Past research showed that compared with fathers,
mothers were the primary socialization agents in the formation of adolescents’ pro-environmental values (Grønhøj & Thøgersen, 2009). However, in the current research,
parents’ gender did not moderate the mediation effect of
parents’ environmentally responsible consumption behavior in the relationship between parents’ and adolescents’
green consumption values. One potential explanation is that
the increasing number of Chinese dual-career families has
resulted in more equitable divisions of labor in the family,
and shared parenting duties might cause greater assimilation
of the values parents’ place on time investment in parenting
(Raley et al., 2012; Renk et al., 2003). Thus, adolescents
may have similar exposure to fathers’ and mothers’ environmentally responsible consumption behavior, and the transmission of pro-environment values from mothers to adolescents, and from fathers to adolescents, may be equally likely.
Finally, this study makes another contribution to the literature on ecological socialization by examining the intergenerational transmission of a specific pro-environmental
values related to consumerism, namely green consumption
values. Environmental awareness, concern, and consumerism are three important aspects of ecological socialization
(Easterling et al., 1995). Previous studies on the socialization of environmental values have mainly focused on proenvironmental values in general (Grønhøj & Thøgersen,
2009; Litina et al., 2016), rather than specific values related
to these three aspects of ecological socialization. However,
different specific values might develop from different processes of ecological socialization. The current study took the
lead in testing the effect and mechanism of parents’ values
and behaviors on the formation of a specific form of early
adolescents’ pro-environmental values (namely green consumption values), laying the groundwork for future research
on the ecological socialization of pro-environmental values
specific to consumerism.
Practical Contributions
Developing young people’s green consumption values is an
effective way to reduce non-green consumption behaviors
and consumption patterns (Haws et al., 2014). Our findings
13
382
point to the important roles of parents’ green consumption values and behaviors in promoting early adolescents’
green consumption values. Thus, one valuable implication
concerns the role of pro-environment media exposure (Östman, 2014) in educating the public about green consumption values and the positive impact that parents can have on
children when they engage in environmentally responsible
consumption behavior. Public activities could be launched
to invite parents and children to engage in environmentally
responsible consumption behavior together, which could
help adolescents to watch and imitate their parents’ behavior
more easily (Maniatis, 2016; Segev, 2015).
Our results also suggest that more targeted, informal
education programs in schools and communities (Crohn &
Birnbaum, 2010) could teach both parents and adolescents
the importance of protecting the environment and ways to
solve environmental problems (Vaughan et al., 2003). These
programs could help parents to acquire a deeper understanding of environmental issues (Volk & Cheak, 2003), and these
changes in turn could shape and promote early adolescents’
green consumption values and behaviors as they face the
current and future demands of climate change. It is worth
mentioning that environmental education programs should
be designed to match local cultural values and practices, as
well as participants’ specific circumstances.
Parental behaviors appear to be more effective than parental purposive education with regard to the transmission of
values (Ward, 1974). Consistent with this perspective, our
results showed that parents’ environmentally responsible
consumption behavior may help the formation of early adolescents’ green consumption values. If parents could enact
environmentally responsible consumption behavior consistently in daily life, their children could emulate the behavior
and finally internalize the values underlying the behavior.
Based on our results, we would infer that modeling and
imitation will be most effective when there is a close relationship between the parent and adolescent, which includes
chances to exchange ideas and values (Perez-Brena et al.,
2014) and understanding, affection and tolerance (Yang
et al., 2014).
Limitations and Future Research
This study was a first step in understanding early adolescents’
socialization of green consumption values in the family context. Our findings must be interpreted in light of this study’s
limitations. First, this research was conducted in China, and the
results may not generalize to other cultural contexts. Confucian
ideas about families, including the importance of filial piety
and the expectation that children will take on parents’ values,
put parents in a powerful position for shaping their children’s
values (Xu et al., 2005), and these are family characteristics
13
Y. Gong et al.
are less common in Western culture (Yang & Laroche, 2011).
Hence, we suggest that future researchers not only examine the
generalization of our results to other cultures, but also conduct
cross-cultural studies to compare the Eastern with Western
contexts of ecological socialization.
Second, our research mainly focused on the socialization of early adolescents’ green consumption values from
the perspective of parents. With economic and technological growth, adolescents are becoming consumers at an earlier age than in previous generations, and they are growing
into a new consumption force (Gentina & Muratore, 2012).
Moreover, teenagers constitute a large part of the Chinese
population (Gentina & Muratore, 2012), with the potential to
exert a powerful collective drive toward environmental problems. Adolescents’ influence might also be seen in the family, where there could be bidirectional influences between
parents and adolescents (Pinquart & Silbereisen, 2004).
This conceptualization differs from the traditional view of
socialization as a one-way teaching and learning process
in which parents influence children (Gentina & Muratore,
2012; Ward, 1974). There is increasing research interest in
ecological “re-socialization” in which children influence
parents’ environmental knowledge, skill, behaviors and values (Gentina & Muratore, 2012; Gentina & Singh, 2015). An
innovative research topic would be the potential effect and
mechanism of early adolescents’ green consumption values
and environmentally responsible consumption behavior on
their parents’ ecological re-socialization.
Based on socialization theory (Zigler & Child, 1969),
we validated the mediating role of parents’ environmentally
responsible consumption behavior in the transmission of
green consumption values from parents to early adolescents.
However, there could be multiple, complex mechanisms by
which parents’ green consumption values influence early
adolescents’ green consumption values. For example, green
consumption values could drive people to seek out environmental knowledge (Segev, 2015), and knowledge of environmental solutions and environmental issues could further
promote these values (Maniatis, 2016). Pro-environment
parents may be especially likely to seek out environmental
knowledge that they can teach their children. Eventually,
children who gain environmental knowledge from parents
may be more likely to form green consumption values.
Therefore, future research could further explore the function of environmental knowledge in the inter-generational
transmission of green consumption values.
Conclusion
The two studies in this research suggested that parents’
green consumption values could promote early adolescents’
green consumption values via parents’ environmentally
Will “Green” Parents Have “Green” Children? The Relationship Between Parents’ and Early…
responsible consumption behavior. Moreover, a close parent–child relationship will enhance the above mediating
effect. This research was the first to identify parents’ green
consumption values as an important socialization force in the
family context, thus shifting and complementing previous
adult-focused research by focusing on the inter-generational
transmission of values. Drawing upon ecological socialization theory, we further explored the mechanism underlying
this socialization of green consumption values in the family
context. Finally, we identified an important boundary condition under which this inter-generational transmission occurs,
thus helping to reconcile previous conflicting findings in
the relationship between parents’ and adolescents’ pro-environmental values. This study depicts a more comprehensive
picture of adult-adolescent dyadic green consumption values
and lays the groundwork for further research on how early
adolescents’ green consumption values develop in the family context.
Acknowledgements This work is supported by the Project of the
National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71802195,
72072185, 71672195), and the Project of the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2020JJ5782). The authors wish to thank the
anonymous reviewers, and Dr. Xiuyuan Tang for their excellent advice
and critique.
Declarations
Conflict of interest All authors declare that they have no conflict of
interest.
Ethical Approval All research procedures involving human participants
were in accordance with the ethical standards of the research committee
at the third author’s institution and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration
and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent Informed consent was obtained from all participants
quoted in the study.
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