Revised environmental identity scale: Adaptation and preliminary examination on a sample of Italian pet owners

Ariccio, S;Mosca, O

2023-01-01

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Abstract

The Revised Environmental Identity (EID) Scale is a tool proposed by Clayton in 2021 to replace her 2003's EID Scale and aims to measure individual differences in a stable sense of interdependence and connectedness with nature. Since an Italian version of this scale was still missing, the present study presents an adaptation of the Revised EID Scale in Italian. The scale has been translated, back-translated, and administered online to 163 pet owners living in Italy in the context of a study about pet attachment. A parallel analysis suggested the existence of two factors. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) identified the same number of factors: "Connectedness to nature" (nine items) and "Protection of nature" (five items); the two subscales were found to be consistent. This structure explains more variance compared with the traditional one-factor solution. Sociodemographic variables do not seem to affect the scores of the two EID factors. This adaptation and preliminary validation of the EID scale have relevant implications for studies in the Italian context as well as on specific population groups such as pet owners, and more generally, for international studies on EID.