The relationship between social and environmental Interdependence as an explanation of proenvironmental behavior

The social acceptance of sustainable development has motivated research exploring an emergent, integrative and nondichotomic ecological worldview called the New Human Interdependence Paradigm (NHIP). This framework is based upon a conception of interdependent development, implying a process of integration and inclusion of human needs within the dynamics of environmental balance. This paper analyzes the role played by the NHIP in the prediction of proecological, altruistic, and austere actions and in the emergence of collectivistic identity. Two studies were conducted. The first developed an expanded NHIP scale and analysed its construct validity. An oblimin factor analysis indicated the presence of four first-order factors and a NHIP higher-order factor. The second study tested a structural model that confirmed the NHIP unifactorial structure, evaluated the predictive capability of the NHIP on proecological, austere and altruistic behaviors, and identified the influence of collectivistic identity on the relationship between the NHIP and sustainable behaviors.