Factors Associated with Attitudes and Knowledge of First-Semester College Students toward Climate Change

Abstract Despite scientific consensus and educational efforts, approximately 25% of Americans remain unconvinced of anthropogenic climate change (ACC), and significant misconceptions remain. Many studies have assessed adults’ views, but it is important to also understand the perceptions of younger individuals who will deal with the future impacts of ACC. In this study, we aimed to determine first-semester college students’ attitudes toward and knowledge of ACC, which factors are associated with these measures, and whether knowledge scores differ among audience segments. We issued surveys at 19 American universities and received 2355 responses. The surveys contained sections assessing attitudes, knowledge, and demographics. We analyzed the attitudes and knowledge in ordinal and beta regressions. Most (73.6%) of the students were very concerned about ACC, and their average knowledge scores were high (0.89, standard error = 0.003). Attitude and knowledge were associated with a combination of personal and environmental factors. The concerned students had higher scores, suggesting education may be an important mitigation tool.