The green adolescent: The joint contribution of personality and divergent thinking in shaping pro-environmental behaviours

The ongoing environmental deterioration challenges present and forthcoming generations to adopt more suitable behaviours to avoid catastrophic consequences for Earth's ecosystem. This demanding scenario has raised several questions about human activities, leading to exploring the intrapersonal factors involved in pro-environmental behaviours (PEBs). In a sample of 146 late adolescents (Mage = 19.91 years, SDage = 1.31 years, 68.5% females), the current research addressed the extent to which the Big Five personality traits predict PEBs through the effect of fluency and creativity of divergent thinking (DT). Results revealed that not only openness but also extraversion and agreeableness were indirectly associated with PEBs through the mediation of DT creativity. This study extended previous knowledge about the impact of personality on green behaviours, suggesting that adolescents must invest in and increase their DT competencies to enhance their own disposition toward proenvironmental practices. Implications, limitations, and future research directions were discussed.