Social Representations of Environmental Problems and Solutions in Rural Contexts: Comparative Evidence from Three Independent Cohorts

Auteurs

Mots-clés :

Environmental solutions, Social representations, Rural, climate change, Environmental problems

Résumé

Environmental problems today represent a growing challenge with profound impacts on rural communities, biodiversity, and traditional livelihoods. In response, local solutions emerge that seek to mitigate or adapt to ecological consequences, which vary over time. The objective of this study was to analyze the social representations of environmental problems and solutions, examining their temporal evolution across three cohorts within a sample of rural population. Methodologically, an exploratory approach to social representations was adopted, using a mixed-method strategy with a repeated cross-sectional trend design. Trends were examined among 169 rural participants corresponding to the years 2019, 2020, and 2022, using non-probabilistic convenience sampling through a questionnaire. Additionally, a co-occurrence analysis of codes for open-ended questions regarding environmental problems was used to enhance understanding of the representations. As for the results, the significant and stable problem identified was climate change, understood as a highly abstract issue that is difficult to address. On the other hand, among the solutions, environmental education predominated, showing statistically significant growth in its relevance. In contrast, the absence of changes in rural lifestyles—such as reducing meat consumption or ceasing the use of firewood for heating—reveals difficulties in modifying rural ways of living. In conclusion, the study underscores the need to strengthen environmental education in rural areas, both in formal and non-formal contexts, and to deepen the understanding of climate change at the rural level, considering practical and applied approaches.

Biographies des auteurs

  • Matías Peña-Garay, Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Sociales. Universidad Católica del Maule

    My research interests are rooted in two main areas: (i) the theoretical and methodological study of social representations from both processual and structural perspectives, and (ii) the exploration of environmental psychology and the psychosocial dimensions of climate change, its effects on territories, sustainability conceptions, and socio-natural disasters, particularly the responses to such events.

  • Pamela Castillo-Mardones, Departamento de Trabajo Social, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chili

    PAMELA CASTILLO-MARDONES holds a PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Barcelona. She is an academic at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Concepción. She is a member of the academic staff of the Master’s programs in Family Intervention and in Social Work and Social Policies at the University of Concepción. She is a visiting professor in the Master’s program in Social Sciences at the University of Bío-Bío. She is a Social Worker and holds a Master’s degree in Social Intervention from the University of Bío-Bío, Chile. 

  • José Sandoval-Díaz, Centro de Estudios Ñuble, Universidad del Bío-Bío, Chillán, Chili

    JOSÉ SANDOVAL-DÍAZ holds a PhD in Psychology and is Director of the Ñuble Center for Studies at the University of Bío-Bío. His research focuses on individual and community capacities in the face of disaster risk within contexts of global environmental change, with particular emphasis on community resilience, social vulnerability, and psychosocial adaptation to climate change.

Téléchargements

Publiée

2025-12-29

Numéro

Vol. 34 No 2 (2025): Vol. 34 No. 2 (2025)

Rubrique

Free standing papers