Young people’s responses to environmental issues: Exploring the roles of adaptability and personality

•Adaptability yielded positive direct, indirect, and total effects on pro-environmental attitudes.•Indirect effects of adaptability were mediated by environmental awareness and concerns.•Agreeableness and neuroticism also had positive total effects on pro-environmental attitudes.•Adaptability explained more variance in pro-environmental attitudes than personality traits.•Adaptability plays a role in the way young people adapt in mitigating environmental issues.

Based on a sample of over 2000 Australian adolescents (Mage = 14.5 years; 51% girls), this investigation explores the extent to which young people’s adaptability and personality are associated with their responses to environmental issues. Controlling for the effects of socio-demographic and prior achievement, structural equation modeling showed that adaptability yielded significant positive direct, indirect (via environmental awareness and concerns), and total effects on pro-environmental attitudes. Although agreeableness and neuroticism also generated significant and positive total effects on pro-environmental attitudes, adaptability explained the most variance in pro-environmental attitudes. Findings offer theoretical, research, and applied implications for researchers and practitioners seeking to optimize individuals’ responses to environmental challenges.