Contribution to an Ecological Worldview: Adaptation and validation of the New Ecological Paradigm Scale to the European Portuguese language

Abstract

Introduction

The growing need for societies to adopt a more ecological and sustainable mindset highlights the importance of instruments such as the 15-item New Ecological Paradigm Scale (NEP Scale). The scale measures the individuals’ endorsement of an ecological worldview, contrasting with the perspective of human dominance and exemptionalism.

Objective

This study aimed to validate the European Portuguese version of the NEP Scale using a cross-validation approach.

Method

The total sample, consisting of 511 participants (56.4% women; aged between 18-73 years old), was split into two halves, with the first half used to perform an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to refine the scale, and the second half to perform a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

Results

The EFA revealed a 14- item two-factor latent structure, which was subsequently confirmed through CFA (CFI = 0.98; TLI = 0.97; RMSEA = 0.04; SRMR = 0.06). Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha (α) and McDonald's omega (ωs), with factor 1 (Ecocentrism; α = .88; ωs = .87), and factor 2 (Anthropocentrism; α = .80; ωs = .81) showing strong internal consistency. Significant moderate correlations between both NEP Scale dimensions and the Ecologically Conscious Consumer Behavior (ECCB) scale (r1 = .383; r2 = .313) provided convergent evidence for construct validity. The correlation between NEP dimensions was .70, indicating an acceptable discriminant validity.

Conclusion

This study adds to the evidence of the European Portuguese version of NEP being a valid, reliable, and valuable tool for assessing environmental orientation within Portuguese speaking samples. Moreover, average NEP scores showed that the Portuguese are akin to a pro-ecological worldview (M = 3.72, SD = 0.68), specially among young women with low income.