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TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE 11m cJCIRCJDatoDmpGS-ou THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEW OF THE BULGARIANS AND ITS’ SOCIAL BASE BY Ivan Dimov Ivanov, M.D. A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Sociology 2000 ABSTRACT THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEW OF THE BULGARIANS AND ITS SOCIAL BASE BY Ivan Dimov Ivanov, M.D. This research studied the extent of penetration of the modern ecological ideas (the New Environmental Paradigm) in the Bulgarian society and their association with certain socio-demographic characteristics. The study utilized data from a national survey of 1000 adult Bulgarians. The data were analyzed using frequency distribution, regression and post-hoc contrasts. The results show that that Bulgarians are not complete holders of the New Environmental Paradigm. They respect nature, although they do not see it as limit to economic growth and they still hold some of the old technocratic values, such as the belief in science and technology. They would support environmental actions but not at the expense of opportunities to raise their living standards through technological and economic development. People who would be most likely to hold eco-centric worldviews would be highly educated persons, intellectuals, urban residents, and not politically active. Copyright by IVAN DIMOV IVANOV 2000 To Mom and Dad, To Violetta and To P.Gregg For all your love, faith and support. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Christopher Vanderpool, for providing me with endless encouragement and insight throughout every stage of this research and for teaching me to look beyond the numbers, to the foresight of the sociological imagination. I would also like to thank my committee members: Craig Harris for his stimulating challenge and support during the research design, Angela Mertig for the initial impetus and valuable advice at the initiation, designing and analyzing the data, to Harry Perlstadt for introducing me of the social of the health. I acknowledge the advice and the assistance of Stan Kaplowitz in analyzing the statistical data. I am much grateful to Lawrence Bush for his professional support and inspiration during the years of my master's studies. This research is entirely funded under the Grant No. 5-D43-DW00641-O4, International Training and Research in Environmental and Occupational Health Project at MSU. I am particularly grateful to Evangelos Petropoulos, Project Manager and Director of the Institute of International Health at MSU, for funding the collection of the data and for supporting the theoretical and research part of my master's program. I would like to extend thanks also to Michail Mirchev, Director of the Agency for Social Surveys and Analyses in Sofia, for his advice in designing the instrument, and for the organization and implementation of the collection and coding of the data. Finally I am thankful to my personal and professional friends that I have received support and encouragement from. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES INTRODUCTION THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Environmental paradigm Social base of Environmental Concern Age Social Class Residence Political Ideology Gender Religion RESEARCH QUESTIONS METHODS AND VARIABLES Sample Measuring environmental attitudes Socio-demographic characteristics RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Support for the ideas of the NEP Social base of environmental attitudes ........................ . Residence Age Social Class Religion Gender Political views CONCLUSIONS APPENDIX BIBLIOGRAPHY vii ix 19 19 19 22 26 26 29 29 30 31 32 33 36 39 41 44 LIST OF TABLES Table l NEP Sub-scales and factor loading ........................... . 28 Table 2 Association between scale ‘nature’ and 34 the socio-demographic variables ............................... . Table 3 Association between scale ‘limits to growth' 35 and the socio-demographic variables ................... . viii 1. INTRODUCTION We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. -Buddha In the late 19805, many countries from the former Soviet block were environmental disaster areas. The paralyzing financial crisis and economic collapse that followed the end of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, has had both positive and negative effects on the progress of environmental cleanup. On the negative side there have been insufficient funds for environmental cleanup and investment in non—polluting efficient technologies. Individuals and institutions have diverted their attention from environmental to economic concerns. On the other side the dirtiest industries have shut down or at least curtailed their operations because of the economic collapse. (Yarnal, 1995) Currently, Bulgaria is undergoing transition from central planned to market economy, from totalitarian dictatorship to democratic society. This process is associated with deep changes in politics, social life and cultural values and adopting Western values and beliefs. The questions of the relationship between humans and nature become important when they are contrasted to the attempts to achieve economic growth and equalizing living standards with those of the Western industrial democracies. As many other Central and European Countries, Bulgaria is in a process of accession to the European Union (EU). This accession requires not only a sharing of common European law and market, but also an adherence to common European values. The EU places the clean and harmonious environment as one of the major conditions in joining the union and emphasizes the need to have the environment as a priority over economic development. Therefore this study of the attitudes of Bulgarians toward the environment was undertaken to investigate what is the social paradigm in Bulgaria in terms of the environment and to what extent have modern ecological ideas penetrated and diffused throughout the populace. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Environmental Paradigm The social paradigm is an interwoven set of dominant values and beliefs that are held in a society. According to Olsen et al., a social paradigm is "a mental lens through which people view the world and that enables them to understand what they see"(l992, p.). A social paradigm defines "what is and what should be in social life”. The paradigm is itself a part of culture or sub-culture. However, when a considerable number of people, called "communicative community" by Olsen et at. (1992), share a set of social attitudes, this set becomes a paradigm. There are arguments that the ecological problems of Central and Eastern Europe stem in large part from values of the former communist regimes that were based on Marxist ideology. The former communist party leaders have constantly emphasized beliefs in abundance and progress, devotion to growth and prosperity, faith in science and technology, and governmental planning and strong control over the economy. Such a constellation of values is very similar to what the sociologists in the Western countries call the Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP). Catton and Dunlap describe the following main attributes of the Western DSP: "(1) People are fundamentally different from all other creatures on earth over which they have domination. (2) People are masters of their destiny; they can choose their goals and learn to do whatever is necessary to achieve them. (3) The world is vast and thus provides unlimited opportunities for humans. (4) The history of humanity is one of progress; for every problem there is a solution, and thus progress need never cease." (1980, p.17) According to Pirages and Ehrilich (1978), DSP constitutes a worldview through which individuals interpret the meaning of the external world. It is a mental image of social reality that guides expectations in a society. They further argue that DSP is anti-ecological and, in fact, produces an ecological crisis that requires society to change dramatically its relationship with the environment; if an ecological catastrophe is to be avoided. New ideas are emerging that directly challenge the DSP (Buttel 1987; Cotgrove 1982; Dunlap and van Liere 1978, 1984; Milbrath 1984, 1989; Meadows et a1. 1972). These new ideas emphasize the inevitability of "limits to growth", the necessity of achieving sustainable development, the importance of preserving the "balance of nature" and the need to reject the anthropocentric notion that humans are created to rule over nature and make use of it. According to Dunlap and Van Lierre (1978), these new ideas are best captured by the "spaceship earth" metaphor. They term this new worldview the "New Environmental Paradigm" (NEP). Very little work on environmental beliefs and values has been systematically conducted in the countries from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) which are undergoing economic and social transition to market economy. Gooch (1995) argues that there is similarity in the political culture of Russia and of the Western industrial democracies. Zeigler (1987) includes the maximization of economic growth and a belief in science and technology as part of the Russian DSP. He notes similarities in the Western and Russian "cavalier attitude” toward the limits of their natural environments". To Gooch (1995) the belief that "the world is endless, and represents a set of resources", and that "the present and future of the TS (Totalitarian System) consists of endless progress" is very similar to the Western DSP. Although he further argues, that there are differences between Western and East European DSPs. The belief in individualism that is the core of Western DSP has not been a part of the social ideal of CEE countries during the last 50 years. The focus of responsibility has been concentrated on the state, and individualism was considered undesirable. However, when studying support for the ideas contained in NEP in Sweden, Latvia, and Estonia, Gooch (1995) finds no substantial differences between the countries. People in the Baltic States, as well as people in Sweden, are generally supportive of the ideas of balance of nature, limits to growth, eco-centrism, earth like spaceship concept and are opposed to modifying the environment, and the use of nature. Social Base of Environmental concern The social base of environmental concern was the subject of many studies. In examining the trends in environmental concern, Jones and Dunlap (1992) tested two hypotheses about possible changes in socio-political correlates of environmental concern. According to them, the 'broadening base' hypothesis predicts that environmental concern will "diffuse throughout the populace, resulting in a broader base of support for environmental protection". For the 'economic contingency’ hypothesis, when economic conditions get worse, people who are economically deprived will withdraw support for environmental protection. Jones and Dunlap (1992) also found no clear support for either of the hypotheses. What they found is that younger adults, the well-educated, political liberals, Democrats, and those employed outside of primary industries, will be consistently more supportive of environmental protection than their respective counterparts. Age The ‘age’ hypothesis (Van Lierre and Dunlap,l980) assumes that younger people tend to be more concerned about the environment than older people. The explanation is that younger people are less integrated into the dominant social order, and since environmental solutions are often viewed as threatening the existing social order, and, therefore requiring substantial changes in values, behaviors and institutions, it is logical to expect, the young to accept pro-environmental ideologies more readily than their elders. Another explanation of the age hypothesis is offered by Manheim's theory of generations. The theory suggests that "important historical events occurring at the crucial adolescent and young adulthood phase of the life cycle can permanently affect a cohort throughout its existence"(in Van Liere and Dunlap 1980, p.183). Therefore, the environmental movement as part of the human rights movements in the 60's in Western countries, and as part of the democratic political movements against the totalitarian regimes in CEE countries in the 80's would have affected more the younger generations. Social Class According to the ‘social class’ hypothesis (Van Lierre and Dunlap,l980), environmental concern is positively associated with social class as indicated by education, income, and occupational prestige. This hypothesis is based on Maslow (1970) hierarchy of needs theory, and assumes that environmental concern is a luxury which can be indulged in only after basic material needs are satisfied. This idea was best captured theoretically by Inglehart’s postmaterialist value thesis and more generally with the emergence of new social movements literature (Brechin, 1999). The argument is that environmentalism could be found only among the upper middle class and the postmaterialists. Brenchin, however argues that this approach is too simple, that environmentalism can not be explained only by a the objective problems faced by citizens in the poor countries, and the subjective values or a postmaterialist value shift experienced by citizens of the richer countries. Residence Buttel and Flinn (1977) emphasized the role of rural values in the emergence of environmental concern. They argue that rural values can be conceived of as pertaining to at least two distinct dimensions of sentiment — agrarianism and ruralism. Agrarianism ascribes the renewed interest in rural life to a lingering nostalgia for independence, self- sufficiency and family farming. Agrarianism is often equated to the back-to-the land movement. An opposite perspective is that of ruralism, which argues that the phenomenon is rather a “back-to-nature” or anti-urban philosophy. Both of these cultural traditions have fed into contemporary ideas about nature and rural life. Agrarianism originates from rural segments of the population while ruralism is of urban origin. Mormont (1990) argues that the countryside has acquired “urban” roles such as performing ecological functions and providing open spaces, scenic beauty, and other assets. He further argues that this places the countryside “within a framework of relations in which rural actors have little or no involvement”(Mormont, 1990, p.34). To Mormont, the environmental disputes, as conflicts over collective assets, are not specific to urban or to rural areas. Buttel (1992) relates the environmental symbolism of rural places with a cultural connotation that sees rural communities as underprivileged and worthy of assistance. Urban-rural differences of environmental concern have been thoroughly studied by the sociologists. As a result of this, several theories have been formulated to explain the differences in environmental concern between rural and urban residences. (Trembley and Dunlap, 1978; Van Lierre and Dunlap, 1980; Lowe and Pihhey, 1982) The ‘environmental deprivation’ theory relates public concern for environmental problems to actual levels of pollution and degradation. According to this theory, urban residents would be more concerned about the environment because they are exposed to higher levels of environmental problems. Van Lierre and Dunlap (1980) argue that the environmental deprivation is relative rather than absolute, since the lower classes are accustomed to their poor environmental situation, as they have never experienced anything better. The theory of ‘nature exploitative occupations' suggests another explanation of urban-rural differences in environmental concern. According to this theory the lower level of support for environmental protection in rural areas is rooted in the nature of the occupations found in rural locales. Rural occupations such as farming, mining, and logging are based on the exploitation and consumption of natural resources, and therefore encourage an exploitative attitude towards natural environment. The theory of the impact of occupational dependency on polluting technologies is an extension of the notion of occupational dependence. Morrison et al. (1972) posit that “mthose who are most directly, immediately and drastically threatened by the cost of environmental reforms will be those who will first and most strongly resist the reforms” (1972:266) Another explanation of rural-urban differences in environmental concern centers on ‘pro-growth’ orientation of small town residents as a direct opposition to the philosophy of the environmental movement. To Van Lierre and Dunlap (1980), it is the growth orientation of rural and small town residents and not the utilitarian orientation of nature exploitative occupations that accounts for the 10 positive association between size of residence and environmental concern. Another theory emphasizes the socialization occurring in metropolitan areas. It suggests that since metropolitan environments are man-modified, whereas rural environments represent the work of ‘God’ or ‘Nature’, urban residents are more likely to see man’s efforts as the proper solution of environmental problems rather than their rural counterparts who think of the environment as natural and God-given. However, recent studies suggest greening of non—metropolitan areas (McBeth and Foster, 1994, Alm and Witt, 1995). Other studies show rural public concern for the effects of economic growth on the environment (McBeth, 1996; Harris and King, 1988). These studies demonstrate the central importance of clean and harmonious environment for rural residents and how they are unwilling to sacrifice environmental quality for economic growth. McBeth (1996) argues that the relative deprivation theory is not anymore valid since non—metropolitan communities also experience high environmental burden. He further argues that rural communities are no longer dominated by resource-based industries, which unravels the principles of the extractive occupation theory. In studying the level of environmental concern during the oil crisis in the 70’s, Marsh and Christenson (1977) 11 have found a decrease in the support for environmental controls, while support for economic development increased. They argue that concern for the environment is a reflection of an affluent society, which becomes less important with a worsening environmental situation. However, they were unable to establish any relationship between the individual socioeconomic variables and erosion of support. Conversely, McBeth (1996) argues that environmental protection is positively related to the well being of rural communities. To him environmental health equates to economic health. Political Ideology Van Lierre and Dunlap (1980) state a political hypothesis for explaining environmental concern. This hypothesis assumes that liberals are more concerned about the environment than the conservatives. Dunlap explains that difference with the opposition of business and industry to environmental reforms, which need also extension of governmental activities and regulations as well as innovative action. The theory of cognitive mobilization offers another explanation of the possible linkage between political ideology and environmental concern. According to Dalton (1994, 1988), the combination of explosion of education, and technological and information revolution has produced a new 12 brand of citizen — one that is cognitively mobile. Cognitive mobilization means that citizens increasingly possess the level of political skills and resources necessary to become self-sufficient in politics. Therefore, citizens express more concern about the environment and are more likely to be engaged in environmental actions because they are more interested, informed, and educated about environmental issues. Postmaterialism offers another explanation of the political ideology — environmentalism linkage. To Kanji and Nevitte (1997), the rising salience of environmental orientations is attributed to a shift in public values. Thus, Inglehart (1990) argues that the values of the Western publics are shifting from the overwhelming emphasis on material well being and physical security (i.e. materialism) toward a greater emphasis on the quality of life (i.e. postmaterialism). One particular aspect of the quality of life, that postmaterialists place a great deal of emphasis on, is the state of the environment. Inglehart therefore argues that postmaterialists are far more likely than materialists to be concerned about the environment and to support the environmental movement. Kitschelt (1993) attributes environmental sensitivities to a new set of ideological beliefs. A New Left Libertarian ideology has begun to displace the traditional Left. New 13 Left Libertarians are highly mobilized citizens who accept the important issues on the socialist agenda but reject the traditional socialist paternalist—bureaucratic solutions, such as the centralized state planing and the primacy of the economic growth over intangible social gratifications (Inglehart, 1990). One such ‘intangible” social gratification for the New Left Libertarians is the quality of the environment. Gender Gender can be associated with environmental concern in different ways. Stern et al. (1993) offer a social- psychological model according to which women hold different beliefs than men about the consequences of environmental conditions. They have found empirical evidence that gender differences in environmentalism are the result of gender differences in beliefs about the effects of environmental problems. Women are more accepting than men of messages that link environmental conditions to potential harm to themselves, others, and other species, or the biosphere. Stern relates these arguments with the argument of the feminist theory “that women tend to see a world of inherent interconnections, whereas men tend to see a world of clearly separate subjects and objects, with events abstracted from their contexts” (1993:340). Therefore, men may be less 14 concerned than women about links between the environment and things they value. Davidson and Freudenburg (1996) have analyzed the research on gender and environmental risk concerns. The accumulated research findings show that women tend to express higher levels of concern toward technology and the environment than do men, but that the tendency is not universal. The differences are particularly clear cut for local environmental problems and for nuclear and other technologies that are often seen as posing risks of contamination. Davidson and Freudenburg have found consistent support for the argument that women tend to express greater concern than do men about the health and safety implications of any given level of technological risk. The ‘parenthood’ hypothesis suggests that the presence of children in the household will be positively correlated with environmental concern. On the one hand children are more sensitive to environmental pollution and on the other hand environmental issues are related to such issues as intergenerational equality (Davidson and Fredenburg, 1996). The ‘gender socialization’ theory explains the gender differences in environmentalism by the extent to which society is gendered. The proponents of this theory argue that the oppression of women arose from an ascription of 15 women to the natural realm, whereas men have been credited with creating culture, often in opposition to nature. (Davidson and Freudenburg, 1996) Religion There are two main hosts of theoretical thinking about religion and environment. The first is based on the concept of biblical literalism. The focus in this concept is the Genesis 1 injunction for humankind to have dominion over the earth, the Mastery-over-Nature concept. White (1967) was the first who found empirical support for this concept in the negative association between certain elements of Judeo- Christianity and environmental concern. Weiskel (1990) states that all three Abrahamic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam emphasize upon the sense of exemptionalism. In each tradition humans are said to be empowered or authorized by the divine to undertake certain behaviors in the natural world and are promised protection and exemption from natural processes. Kanagy and Nelsen (1995) demonstrate with empirical evidence that those in Judeo-Christian traditions, and in particular religiously conservative individuals in these traditions, are less concerned about environmental issues than other individuals. In addition, they argue that there is a negative association between religiosity and the level of support for the ideas of the new environmental paradigm. In a recent multi— 16 national survey, Shultz et al. (2000) have also found strong evidence for a negative association between the level biblical literalism and pro—environmental and ecocentric attitudes. The other trend is the concept of Christian stewardship. Lindeborg (1993) argues that the traditional Judeo-Christian viewpoint that human beings have dominion over the earth carries with it, in today’s interpretation, the obligation to provide for a sustained yield of all things society needs to survive and thrive. 17 RESEACH QUESTIONS This study has been undertaken to answer the following research questions: 1. What is the degree of support in Bulgaria for the ideas in NEP? 2. To what degree can support for NEP be explained by some socio-demographic characteristics of the Bulgarians such as: residence, age, social class, political views, religion, gender and parenthood? 18 METHODS AND VARIABLES Sample The data for this analysis were drawn from face—to—face interview survey of Bulgarian adults. A multistage cluster probability sample of 1000 adults in the age interval 18-70 years was used. The sample was taken from election lists with balancing between rural and urban areas and different geographical regions, so the whole country was represented in the sample. The quality of the achieved sample was checked against data on the Bulgarian population for age, ethnicity, family status, occupational status and social group, with the sample showing a satisfactory similarity to the general population. Therefore, the results of this survey can be considered representative of the adult population of Bulgaria in the age interval of 18-70 years. Professional interviewers conducted the face-to—face interviews with the respondents in their homes. The interviews were conducted in July 1999. Mbasuring'Ehvironmental.Attitudes Dunlap and Van Lierre developed in 1978, a 12 item scale consisting of statements reflecting the ideas of the NEP, such as: balance of nature, limits to growth, rejection of human exemptionalism, eco-centrism and possibility of eco-crisis. The scale was improved over time and was used in 19 many surveys both in the United States and in other countries. The Health of the Planet Survey, done in 1992 by Gallup International in 24 countries around the world, proved the applicability of the NEP scale to different countries and cultures (Dunlap, Gallup Jr. and Gallup 1993). Environmental attitudes were assessed using the 12 item Likert-type scale, which was applied by Gallup International in the Health of the Planet Survey. Respondents were asked whether they strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed or strongly disagreed with each item. Replies to items 2, 5, 7, 9, 10 and 11 were reverse-coded so that the higher score reflects pro-environmental attitude. For descriptive purposes, these categories were reduced to agree and disagree. Initially Dunlap and Van Liere claimed that the scale is unidimensional. Grendstad (1992) supports that claim with factor analyzing (principal components) the scale, and finding out that there is a moderately strong ecological factor running across the items. However, other researchers who used the NEP scale (Albrecht et al., 1982; Edgell & Nowell, 1989; Geller & Lasley, 1985; Kuhn and Jackson, 1989; Now & Snow, 1990) have argued that the scale consists of three distinct environmental orientations: (1) the balance of nature; (2) limits to growth; and, (3) human domination of nature. Two 20 of these orientations are rejection of the primitive beliefs that humankind is above and apart from nature, and that progress and growth are natural and good. In this study, a factor analysis using the Bulgarian data with Maximum Likelihood extraction and Varimax rotation with Keizer normalization, revealed 4 factors with Eigen- values more than 1.00. However, according to the scree-test, the two factor solution would be most meaningful. Seven items (NEPl, NEP2, NEP5, NEP7, NEP8, NEP9, NEPlO) loaded to a common factor (explaining 10.1% of the variance) that assesses the ideas that balance of nature is delicate, that technology is a threat to the environment, and that humans are part of nature (balance of nature/anti-technocratism/ rejection of exemptionalism). This factor was named ‘nature’. The remaining 5 items (NEP3, NEP4, NEP6, NEPll, NEP12) formed another factor (9.2% of the variance explained) dealing with the ideas that there are limits to growth, that human domination of nature should be rejected and that there is an ecological crisis (limits to growth/ anti-anthropocentrism/eco-crisis). The second factor will be further referred to as ‘limits to growth’ To address the second research question listed above, two sub-scales were created by combining individual items loading high on the respective factor. 21 Cronbach's alpha coefficient is a common method to measure a scale's internal consistency. We found that Cronbach's alpha for the scale NATURE is .3210, which is less consistent, however the coefficient for the scale LIMITS TO GROWTH is .5366, which shows much more internal consistency. Finally 2 new variables were created by summing up the scores of the items in each sub-scale. NATURE has approximately normal distribution with a slight negative skew (-.546), minimum value 11.00, maximum 28.00, mean 19.97. LIMITS TO GROWTH has also normal distribution, slightly negatively skewed (—.167), with minimum value 5.00, maximum 20.00 and mean 13.05. Socio-demographic characteristics To explore the extent to which differences in the levels of environmental concern were associated with various social characteristics of the respondents nine independent variables were used: 0 Age was measured in years. 0 Residence was scored as: 1 = village, 2 = small town, 3 = big city. 22 0 Income was assessed by combining responses to the following questions: 1.“How often you do without something important in your everyday life?” and 2. “For what do you have enough money?” Indirect measure of income was used because asking questions about the exact amount of personal and family income is considered inappropriate in social surveys in Bulgaria. 0 Social status was assessed through combining scores for education: 1 = less than elementary; 2 = elementary; 3 = professional technical school; '4 = high school; 5 =three years post high school; 6 = university degree) and social group (according to the classification of the social groups in Bulgaria, Tidjiev et al, 1997): H II blue collar worker in industry, 2 = blue collar worker in whole sale and crafts, 0.) ll farmer or farm worker, 23 4 = white collar worker in administration, 5 = white collar worker in industry, 6 = private entrepreneur without employees, 7 = private entrepreneur with employees, 8 = technical intelligentsia, 9 = humanitarian intelligentsia. 0 NUmber of children below 18 y/o living in the household was coded as: 0= no children; 1 = 1 child; 2 = 2 children, 3 = 3 children, 4 = 4 or more children. 0 Political ideology was coded: 1 =nationalist, N ll christian democrat, 3 = social democrat, 4 = liberal, 5 = agrarian, 6 = green, 7 = socialist, 8 = communist. 24 0 Party affiliation was dummy coded into 6 dummy variables: Bulgarian Business Block (BBB); Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP); Movement for Rights and Freedom; Euroleft (MRF); Union of Democratic Forces (UDF); Other Parties. The people who don’t sympathize with any political party were considered the excluded group. 0 Gender was dummy coded: H II male, 0 = female. 0 Religion of the kin was dummy coded: H II Christian, 0 = Muslim. 25 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Support for the Ideas of the New Environmental Paradigm The frequency distribution of the answers for the whole NEP scale is shown on table 1. Of the 12 items measuring the acceptance of the NEP, three clearly failed to receive a pro-environmental choice by the majority of the respondents (see table 1), namely solving problems with technology, natural limits to growth, raising living standards through science and technology. These concepts were underlying the ideology that the society will build up developed communism through increasing the production, and applying more and better science. The failure of the respondents to give pro- environmental choice to these ideas can be related to still existing communist ideologies among substantial number of Bulgarians. The other items clearly received pro-environmental choice. Between 80% and 94% agreed that the balance of nature is delicate, that science and technology do as much harm as good, that earth is like a spaceship with only limited room and resources, that plants and animals don't exist to be used by humans, and that technology made world a riskier place to live. Between 57% and 70% of the respondents agreed that humans are not created to rule over 26 nature, that modifying the environment can cause severe problems, and that there is an ecological crisis. Only 50.4% felt that the Earth can not support more population. The standard deviation of an attitudinal variable can be used to assess the degree of public consensus on certain attitude (Mertig and Dunlap 1995). The mean scores of the NEP items and their standard deviations are shown on table 1. The highest public consensus exists in terms of the ideas about the delicacy of the balance of nature, the possibility to raise living standards through science and technology and to solve problems through science and technology. Least consensus exists concerning human domination over nature, human intervention in environment, and the evidence of ecological crisis. It should be noted as well that all the items composing the scale LIMITS TO GROWTH show small degrees of public consensus. 27 coHumHsQom mmv. moo. em. mv.m H.ev v.om uomuoa nose o uncadsm coo nunmo one oououooomxo eaumouo Hem. mNH. Ho.H Hm.m H.mo m.mm noon mmn =mfimfiuo HmoflmoHooo: ooaaoo On one mEoHnouQ mDOeuom momsoo Eooaom mmv. meo. oo.H em.m m.em m.ov om: noEdn you unoecoue>no onu ocfl>uflcoz ousuon mmm. 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EA 9% v.3 mm 52 nose 9... on 330583 new 8:38 >moaonnoou nonuon cnm ouoE mam. mom.- mo. so.s m.os m.mm manssaam en vm>H0m on emu mamnnoua umoz moflufl>fluoo coEsn en woman >Hflmoo woo. mmv. mm. mo.m «.mm m.m ono ouooflaoo >uo> me ousuon mo oonoaon one N H nouoom “Ouomm va osmm.uo roocmfluo> .>oo ouoom mmz Awe Mo w N.H-mumounu Hmofloo~onnoon\ouzuon onfloooH uouoom .oum nmoz one mmo one wo oonoaon» mmbemz oqoomunzm ocwvnoa Hovouu van uoauounnum muz .H oanua 28 Social.Base of.Environmental.Attitude81 The association between the sub-scales NATURE and LIMITS TO GROWTH and the socio—demographic variables was studied, using the bivariate correlations, multiple regression coefficients, and the test of Bonferroni for difference in means. The results are shown on tables 2 and 3. Residence Residence was positively associated both with NATURE (r=.106) and with LIMITS TO GROWTH (r=.153). However, these correlations were no more significant when controlling for age, income, social status, number of children, and political ideology. The Bonferroni's2 test of post-hoc contrasts revealed statistically significant differences between the means of NATURE, namely between villages/small town and villages/big cities. For LIMITS TO GROWTH the significant contrasts are villages/big cities and small towns/big cities. 1 All results reported and discussed in this section are statistically significant at least at p=.05 2 The statistical test of Bonferroni is a post-hoc contrast comparing mean differences between two variables. It allows for controlling for the possibility that the difference may be significant by chance. 29 Residence was positively associated (Gamma) with 6 of the items in the scale: balance of nature (.159); modifying the environment (.144); earth like spaceship (.095); plants and animals equal to humans (.135); ecological crisis (.183); population growth (.141). These data suggest that there is different support for the ideas in NEP depending on residence location. People in rural areas and small towns are somewhat less supportive of the ecological and eco—centric approach towards nature and emphasize economic growth. Villages and small towns in Bulgaria currently experience dramatic economic deprivation due to the collapse of the local industry and the transformation of agriculture. Therefore it is not surprising that people in such areas would give economic growth a priority to the environment. Age Age was not associated with NATURE, both bivariate and partial regression coefficients are statistically insignificant. For LIMITS TO GROWTH there was a low negative bivariate correlation with age (r= -.091) suggesting that younger people tend to be more supportive of the concepts of limits to growth/anti-anthropocentism/ecocrisis, although this correlation becomes insignificant when controlling for the other socio-demographic variables. Age was slightly 30 positively correlated with 2 NEP items: raising standards through science and technology (Gamma =. 087) and technology made the world riskier (r=.066), suggesting that older people possibly tend to be more skeptic about the ability to raise our standards through science and technology and see technology as a threat. However the results for the both sub-scales and for the individual items do not offer a clear support for the age hypothesis. Social Class Social status was positively correlated both with NATURE and LIMITS TO GROWTH. The Pearson's correlation coefficients were respectively r=.149 and r=.122. For NATURE the correlation was low moderate and remained significant when controlling for the other socio-demographic variables. However, for LIMITS TO GROWTH, this correlation became insignificant after statistical control. Income was not significantly correlated both with NATURE and LIMITS TO GROWTH. We can conclude that the effect of class is expressed mainly through education and social group (social status), since income has no effect on these concepts. Education had low positive correlation (Gamma) with 7 of the 12 items in the NEP scales: balance of nature; humans rule over nature; 31 modifying the environment; earth like spaceship; plants and animals; ecological crisis; population growth. Income was positively correlated only with 1 NEP item: technology made the world riskier (.108) The results suggest that well-educated people, who belong to the intellectual elite, would be more likely to hold eco-centric views than lower educated people and blue collar workers would. Religion For NATURE, neither the Bonferroni test, nor the multiple regression with religion as dummy coded independent variable revealed any meaningful difference between Christians, Muslims and other religions. Although in terms of LIMITS TO GROWTH the Bonferroni test showed that there is significant difference of the means of Christians and Muslims, suggesting that Muslims tend to be more pro-growth than Christians are. This was supported also by the partial regression cdefficient for Christians (B=.097). These data do not give enough support for the Christian stewardship hypothesis. It can not be unambiguously concluded that people from Muslim kin would be more pro- growth. A big part of the Muslim population in Bulgaria live in rural areas and small towns and this pro-growth orientation may be related to residence rather than to 32 religion. In addition, religiosity for Bulgarians is associated mainly with family traditions and not with church attendance. Therefore, the differences between different religious groups reflect more ethno-cultural and social differences rather than differences in spirituality. Gender The effect of gender on NATURE and LIMITS TO GROWTH was evaluated using the analysis of variance technique to test the null hypothesis of no difference between males and females. The value of F-test for NATURE was 3.682 (p=.055) and for LIMITS TO GROWTH .025 (p=876). So, we couldn't reject the null hypothesis of no difference in the population and we conclude that gender has no effect on supporting or rejecting the ideas of NEP. 33 Table 2. Association between NATURE and the socio- demographic variables Indep. NATURE Variables Bivariate Partial Regression Post-Hoc Pearson’s Coefficient Contrast r Bonferroni Age r=.018 B=.027 generation mean differences NS Residence r=.129"' B=.066 village