The role of mothers’ non-transport pro-environmental behaviours in their children’s sustainable transport behaviours during adolescence and young adulthood

Li, Jinpeng (2025) The role of mothers’ non-transport pro-environmental behaviours in their children’s sustainable transport behaviours during adolescence and young adulthood. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Promoting sustainable transport behaviours (e.g. choosing public transport and active transport mode such as walking and cycling) among adolescents and young adults is critical for reducing transport-related greenhouse gas emissions. These sustainable transport behaviours fall under the category of pro-environmental behaviours which are defined as behaviours that reduce negative impacts or even positively impact the environment. Other pro-environmental behaviours include, for example, recycling, energy conservation, eco-friendly purchasing, and waste reduction. Previous studies have established the correlation between parents’ sustainable transport behaviours during children’s socialisation (e.g. during their children’s adolescence) and their children’s adoption of these sustainable transport behaviours during adolescence and young adulthood. However, the role of parents’ other pro-environmental behaviours, such as energy conservation and eco-friendly purchasing (referred to as Non-Transport Pro-Environmental Behaviours (NTPEB) in this thesis), in their children’ssustainable transport behaviours during adolescence and young adulthood has not been investigated. Exploring the role of these parental NTPEB is essential since these behaviours exhibit greater susceptibility to intervention measures and have higher participation rates than sustainable transport behaviours. This could create improved intervention opportunities for promoting sustainable transport behaviour among adolescents and young adults.

Given that mothers have a more substantial influence than fathers in shaping their children’s education, behaviours, and attitudes, this study primarily investigated mothers’NTPEB in shaping their children’s sustainable transport behaviours during adolescence and young adulthood. This U.K.-focused thesis empirically examined four interconnected research questions to achieve this aim.

The first research question investigated the relationship between mothers’ NTPEB during their children’s adolescence (ages 10–15 years) and their children’s choice of sustainable transport modes (e.g. active transport like walking and cycling and public transport like buses and subways) for their journeys to school during this period. This relationship was investigated via multinomial logistic regression using data from the fourth wave of the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS). The findings indicated a positive relationship between the frequency of mothers’ NTPEB and the likelihood of their adolescent children choosing public transport to school. Importantly, more easily observable mothers’ NTPEB hold a stronger strength of correlation with the likelihood of adolescents’ use of public transport to school compared to maternal psychological factors like pro-environmental attitudes.

The second and third research questions separately analysed the role of mothers’ NTPEB during their children’s adolescence in their children’s frequency of sustainable transport behaviours (encompassing all travel purposes) and the choice of sustainable transport methods for commuting to work in young adulthood. The second research question was explored through structural equation models, which used data from Waves 4 and 10 of the UKHLS. The findings revealed an indirectly but no directly positive influence of the frequency of maternal NTPEB on children’s frequency of sustainable transport behaviours as young adults. This indirectly positive influence was mediated by children’s pro-environmental attitudes as young adults. The third research question, which employed an integrated choice and latent variable model, identified a similar indirect correlation between the frequency of maternal NTPEB during their children’s adolescence and the likelihood of children’s sustainable transport choice for travelling to work as young adults.

The final research question in this thesis validated the hypothesis of an association between mothers’ NTPEB during their children’s adolescence and the persistent adoption of sustainable transport choices by their children from adolescence through young adulthood. Data from Waves 4 and 10 of the UKHLS were analysed using the integrated choice and latent variable model to validate this hypothesis. Therefore, this thesis’s findings provide a new perspective for understanding the determinants of sustainable transport behaviours among adolescents and young adults and reveal pathways of intergenerational transmission of pro-environmental behaviours from mother to children. In addition, this thesis includes implications for developing interventions to promote sustainable transport behaviour.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Urban Studies
• Funder's Name: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
• Supervisor's Name: McArthur, Dr. David, Livingston, Dr. Mark and Livingstone, Professor Nicola
• Date of Award: 2025
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2025-85333
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 14 Jul 2025 09:14
• Last Modified: 14 Jul 2025 09:14
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.85333
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/85333