A Study of Anxiety Levels Among University Students in Relation to Sustainable Consumption Awareness

Year 2025, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, 105 - 112, 20.03.2025

Didem Gezmişoğlu Şen

Abstract

It is well-established that future anxiety exerts an effect on the consumption behaviour of individuals. This concern is theorised to direct consumers towards sustainable consumption awareness. In order for consumption to be sustainable, it is imperative to increase social awareness. The present study investigates the effect of future anxiety and sustainable consumption awareness of undergraduate students studying at the university on the intention to purchase sustainable products. Thus, this study investigates the effect of future anxiety and sustainable consumption awareness of undergraduate students studying at the university on the intention to purchase sustainable products. To this end, a sample group of 218 university students was surveyed online. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was performed using the IBM SPSS 27 statistical programme and its add-on AMOS 24 programme. The results of the study revealed no positive relationship between future anxiety and sustainable environmental consumption awareness, nor between future anxiety and intention to purchase sustainable products. However, a positive relationship was identified between future anxiety and sustainable environmental consumption awareness. Furthermore, sustainable environmental consumption awareness has been found to be positively associated with both sustainable economic consumption awareness and sustainable purchase intention. Additionally, sustainable product purchase intention has been demonstrated to be positively linked with sustainable economic consumption awareness.

Keywords

Future Anxiety, Sustainable Consumption Awareness, Sustainable Product Purchase Intention

Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Gelecek Kaygısının Sürdürülebilir Tüketim Bilinci Bağlamında İncelenmesi

Abstract

Gelecek kaygısının bireylerin tüketim davranışları üzerinde etkili olduğu bilinmektedir. Bu kaygının, tüketicileri sürdürülebilir tüketim bilincine yönlendirdiği düşünülmektedir. Tüketimin sürdürülebilir olabilmesi için toplumsal bilincin artırılması şarttır. Bu bağlamda, bu çalışmanın eğitim seviyesinin en yüksek olduğu üniversitelerde gerçekleştirilmesi gerektiği düşünülmüştür. Yapılan çalışma ile üniversitede okuyan lisans öğrencilerinin gelecek kaygısı ile sürdürülebilir tüketim bilincinin sürdürülebilir ürün satın alma niyetine olan etkisi araştırılmaktadır. Bu doğrultuda, çevrimiçi anket yöntemi kullanılarak üniversite öğrencilerinden oluşan 218 kişilik bir örneklem grubuna ulaşılmıştır. Toplanan veriler IBM SPSS 27 istatistik programı ve eklentisi AMOS 24 programı kullanılarak Yapısal Eşitlik Modellemesi (YEM) yapılmıştır. Araştırmanın sonucuna göre; gelecek kaygısı ile sürdürülebilir çevresel tüketim bilincinin ve gelecek kaygısı ile sürdürülebilir ürün satın alma niyeti arasında pozitif bir ilişkiye rastlanılmamıştır. Gelecek kaygısı ile sürdürülebilir çevresel tüketim bilinci arasında pozitif yönlü bir ilişki vardır. Sürdürülebilir çevresel tüketim bilinci ile hem sürdürülebilir ekonomik tüketim bilinci hem de sürdürülebilir satın alma niyeti arasında pozitif yönlü bir ilişki bulunmaktadır. Sürdürülebilir ürün satın alma niyeti ile sürdürülebilir ekonomik tüketim bilinci arasında pozitif yönlü bir ilişkiye rastlanılmıştır.

Keywords

Gelecek Kaygısı, Sürdürülebilir Tüketim Bilinci, Sürdürülebilir Ürün Satın Alma Niyeti

References

• Anand, S. & Sen, A. (2000). Human development and economic sustainability. World Development, 28(12), 2029-2049.
• Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D.W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 411-423.
• Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (2000). Attitudes and the attitude-behavior relation: Reasoned and automatic processes. European review of social psychology, 11(1), 1-33.
• Balderjahn, I., Buerke, A., Kirchgeorg, M., Peyer, M., Seegebarth, B., & Wiedmann, K. P. (2013). Consciousness for sustainable consumption: scale development and new insights in the economic dimension of consumers’ sustainability. AMS review, 3, 181-192.
• Bentler, P. M., & Bonett, D. G. (1980). Significance tests and goodness of fit in the analysis of covariance structures. Psychological Bulletin, 88(3), 588-606.
• Byrne, B. M. (2010). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming (2 ed.). Routledge.
• Chapman, J. (2015). Emotionally Durable Design: Objects, Experiences and Empathy. London and NY: Routledge.
• Cheah, I., & Phau, I. (2011). Attitudes towards environmentally friendly products: The influence of ecoliteracy, interpersonal influence and value orientation. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 29(5), 452-472.
• Chekima, B., Chekima, S., Syed Khalid Wafa, S. A. W., Igau, O. A., & Sondoh Jr, S. L. (2016). Sustainable consumption: the effects of knowledge, cultural values, environmental advertising, and demographics. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 23(2), 210-220.
• Davis, M. B. (1989). Lags in vegetation response to greenhouse warming. Climatic change, 15(1), 75-82.
• Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of marketing research, 18(1), 39-50.
• Hair, J. F., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2012). Partial least squares: the better approach to structural equation modeling?. Long range planning, 45(5-6), 312-319.
• Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24.
• Hwang, H., & Yeo, H. (2022). Inconsistency between subjective propensity and practice of sustainable consumption: Impact of the consumers’ values‐in‐behavior and social participation. Sustainable Development, 6(30), 1796-1810.
• Kemp, E., Bui, M., & Porter, III, M. (2021). Preparing for a crisis: examining the influence of fear and anxiety on consumption and compliance. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 38(3), 282-292.
• Kotler, P., Kartajaya, H., & Setiawan, I. (2021). Pazarlama 5.0: İnsan için teknoloji. (T. Gezer, Çev.) İstanbul: Nişantaşı Üniversitesi Yayınları.
• Laroche, M., Bergeron, J., & Barbaro‐Forleo, G. (2001). Targeting consumers who are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products. Journal of consumer marketing, 18(6), 503-520.
• Loehlin, J. C. (1992). Latent Variable Models: An Introduction to factor, path and structural analysis, 2nd Ed., Hillsdale, New Jersey.
• McKinnon, A., Browne, M., Whiteing, A., & Piecyk, M. (Eds.). (2015). Green logistics: Improving the environmental sustainability of logistics. Kogan Page Publishers.
• Nash H. A. (2009). The European Commission’s Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy Action Plan. Journal of Cleaner Production, 17: 496-49
• Pedro Pereira Luzio, J., & Lemke, F. (2013). Exploring green consumers’ product demands and consumption processes: The case of Portuguese green consumers. European Business Review, 25(3), 281-300.
• Peattie, K., & Peattie, S. (2009). Social marketing: a pathway to consumption reduction?. Journal of business research, 62(2), 260-268.
• Roberts, J. A. (1996). Green consumers in the 1990s: Profile and implications for advertising. Journal of business research, 36(3), 217-231.
• Schaefer, A., ve Crane, A. (2005). Addressing sustainability and consumption. Journal of Macromarketing, 1(25), 76-92.
• Schlegelmilch, B. B., Bohlen, G. M., & Diamantopoulos, A. (1996). The link between green purchasing decisions and measures of environmental consciousness. European journal of marketing, 30(5), 35-55.
• Smith, S., & Barrientos, S. (2005). Fair trade and ethical trade: are there moves towards convergence? Sustainable Development, 13(3), 190-198.
• Spielberger, C. D., Gonzalez-Reigosa, F., Martinez-Urrutia, A., Natalicio, L. F., & Natalicio, D. S. (1971). The state-trait anxiety inventory. Revista Interamericana de Psicologia/Interamerican journal of psychology, 5(3 & 4).
• OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) (1997). Environmental Taxes and Green Tax Reform, Paris.
• Wang, D., Weisstein, F. L., Duan, S., & Choi, P. (2022). Impact of ambivalent attitudes on green purchase intentions: The role of negative moods. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 46(1), 182-199.
• WOD (Worldometers) https://www.worldometers.info/tr/, erişim tarihi:09.12.24
• Wong, W. M., Mingjing, Q. U., Nunualvuttiwong, C., & Ngamcharoenmongkhon, K. (2023). Environmental Anxiety, Sustainable Consumption, and COVID-19 Fear in Online Consumers: A Research Exploration. Theoretical and Practical Research in Economic Fields, 14(2), 246-257.
• Yılmaz, M., & Arslan, F. M. (2021). Gelecek Kaygısı Ve Sürdürülebilir Tüketim Bilincinin Marka Tutumu ve Satın Alma Niyetine Etkisi: Arçelik Örneği. Journal of Research in Business, 6(2), 510-545.
• Young, W., Hwang, K., McDonald, S., & Oates, C. J. (2010). Sustainable consumption: green consumer behaviour when purchasing products. Sustainable development, 18(1), 20-31.
• Zaleski, Z. (1996). Future anxiety: Concept, measurement, and preliminary research. Personality and individual differences, 21(2), 165-174.
• Zaleski, Z., Sobol-Kwapinska, M., Przepiorka, A., & Meisner, M. (2019). Development and validation of the Dark Future scale. Time & Society, 28(1), 107-123.
• Zeynalova, Z., & Namazova, N. (2022). Revealing consumer behavior toward green consumption. Sustainability, 14(10), 5806