Contribution to an Ecological Worldview: Adaptation and validation of the New Ecological Paradigm Scale to the European Portuguese language

Introduction: The growing need for societies to adopt a more ecological and sustainable mindset highlights the importance of instruments such as the 15-item New Ecological Paradigm Scale (NEP Scale). The scale measures the individuals’ endorsement of an ecological worldview, contrasting with the perspective of human dominance and exemptionalism. Objective: This study aimed to validate the European Portuguese version of the NEP Scale using a cross-validation approach. Method: The total sample, consisting of 511 participants (56.4% women; aged between 18-73 years old), was split into two halves, with the first half used to perform an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to refine the scale, and the second half to perform a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results: The EFA revealed a 14- item two-factor latent structure, which was subsequently confirmed through CFA (CFI = 0.98; TLI = 0.97; RMSEA = 0.04; SRMR = 0.06). Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha (α) and McDonald's omega (ωs), with factor 1 (Ecocentrism; α = .88; ωs = .87), and factor 2 (Anthropocentrism; α = .80; ωs = .81) showing strong internal consistency. Significant moderate correlations between both NEP Scale dimensions and the Ecologically Conscious Consumer Behavior (ECCB) scale (r1 = .383; r2 = .313) provided convergent evidence for construct validity. The correlation between NEP dimensions was .70, indicating an acceptable discriminant validity. Conclusion: This study adds to the evidence of the European Portuguese version of NEP being a valid, reliable, and valuable tool for assessing environmental orientation within Portuguese speaking samples. Moreover, average NEP scores showed that the Portuguese are akin to a pro-ecological worldview (M = 3.72, SD = 0.68), specially among young women with low income.