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How Nature Connectedness and Mindfulness Moderate University Students' Awareness of Single-Use Plastic Pollution
Original title: How Nature Connectedness and Mindfulness Moderate University Students’ Awareness of Single-Use Plastic Pollution
Summary
Researchers found that university students who feel connected to nature *and* practice mindfulness are much more likely to recognize the dangers of single-use plastic pollution — the combination worked better than either trait alone. This matters because plastic waste breaks down into microplastics that contaminate our food, water, and even our bodies, so understanding what makes people take this threat seriously could help schools and communities design better programs to cut plastic use before it ends up harming our health.
Background: Anthropogenic plastic pollution poses a severe global threat; however, this study aimed to investigate the synergistic role of nature connectedness and mindfulness in shaping awareness of single-use plastic pollution among university students.Methods: This cross-sectional questionnaire-based study assessed nature connectedness and mindfulness in 140 students in Isfahan, Iran.A Generalized Additive Model (GAM) was employed to examine nonlinear relationships.Both constructs were measured on a 5-point Likert scale and standardized to a 0-1 scale.Results: Nature connectedness and mindfulness interacted nonlinearly (edf > 1.00) to predict risk perception, explaining 73.5% of the variance (R 2 = 0.735).Mindfulness significantly moderated the effect of nature connectedness, with nonlinear patterns showing a complex relationship.The effect of nature connectedness (mean 3.1 ± 1.4) was amplified by mindfulness (mean 3.3 ± 1.2), achieving 100% statistical power.Conclusion: These findings underscore the synergistic role of nature connectedness and mindfulness in enhancing pollution sensitivity.Although context-specific to Isfahan, the results offer novel insights for environmental psychology.Practically, universities in Isfahan can implement nature-based interventions and mindfulness training to elevate risk perception, targeting students' moderate nature connectedness and high mindfulness to reduce plastic use, directly shaping campus sustainability policies and curbing single-use plastic waste in Iran's urban context.