Relationship between Individualism and Consumption's Environmental Impact among Urmia Citizens

Sustainable development is the main concern for all developing societies, which are exploiting the natural resources beyond their environmental capacity, concerning their citizens’ consumer lifestyle. Such an impact, which is known as Ecological Footprint, besides other factors, is under the influence of value orientation and attitudinal factors such as individualism and materialism.  

Present study employed a descriptive and correlational research design. The statistical population consisted of all 15-65 years old citizens of Urmia which 516 of whom were selected by the use of cluster sampling technique, as the study sample. Ecological Footprint Questionnaire (Turner, 2013), Materialism Questionaire (Richins, 2004), Consumerism Questionnaire (Babin, 1994), and Individualism Questionnaire were used to collect data.

Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling tests. Results showed that individualism (indirectly through consumerism and materialism) and materialism (directly), have positive and significant effects (meaningful level of less than 0. 01) on the ecological footprint of consumption among citizens of Urmia. According to the results of the fitted path model, independent variables could explain around 20 percent of variations in ecological footprint.

  Individualistic and materialistic value orientations could be realized as main determinants of ecological footprint among citizens, which formal and non-formal cultural and educational interventions are needed to be employed by administrational entities to control them.