Climate change and ecological degradation represent profound global challenges, eliciting a wide range of emotional responses that can influence individuals’ engagement in pro-environmental behaviour (PEBs). This cross-sectional study examined the association between trait mindfulness and PEBs, with a focus on the mediating role of eco-emotions, including eco-anxiety, eco-depression, and eco-anger. A total of 259 adults were recruited in central Italy using a non-probabilistic snowball sampling method and completed self-report measures assessing trait mindfulness, eco-emotions, and PEBs. Data were analysed using a parallel mediation model. Results indicated that only eco-anger mediated the association between trait mindfulness and PEBs. Neither eco-anxiety nor eco-depression showed significant indirect effects. These findings suggest that eco-anger represents a distinct emotional pathway through which mindfulness-related regulatory processes can translate into environmentally relevant action, highlighting the differentiated motivational roles of eco-emotions. By clarifying the emotional mechanisms linking trait mindfulness to PEBs, this study provides new evidence contributing to the literature on individual differences, eco-emotions, and environmental psychology. The findings also offer practical implications for developing psychologically informed interventions to promote PEBs by integrating emotional activation with emotion regulation processes.
Bontempo et al. (Tue,) studied this question.