Investigation of the Interaction between Ethnic Identity and Relationship to Nature

摘要

Dialogue concerning African-American perceptions of connectedness to nature has not been addressed in environmental discourse. The current study sought to explore this phenomenon as a means to promote health and address this disparity. Data analysis revealed that there was an absence of African-American male participants within the study. This discovery offers support for the importance of environmental education within African-American communities. In addition, future research is suggested to explore other avenues for study, including the use of a larger, national sample and the use of qualitative methods. The quantitative results did not support the presence of statistically significant correlations among the Multi-ethnic Identity Measure-Revised for ethnic identity (affiliation, commitment, and overall scores) and the aspects of connection to nature for nature stewardship, nature inclusiveness, and affective/experiential connection; as measured by the Nature Inclusive Measure and the Connectedness to Nature Scale, respectively. This endeavor was accomplished by examining the correlations present between an individual's ethnic identity affiliation and commitment (as measured by the Multi-Ethnic Identity Measure-Revised (MEIM-R)); affective/experiential connection to nature (as measured by the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS)); nature inclusiveness and nature stewardship (as measured by Nature Inclusive Measure (NIM)). Keywords: multicultural, ecopsychology, connection to nature, MEIM-R, CNS, NIM, intersectionality, environmental justice.