Psychological Pathways to Sustainable Ocean Action: Compassion, Perceived Threat, and Marine Debris Behavioral Intentions Among Adolescent Girls

Marine debris poses a persistent threat to marine ecosystems and ocean sustainability, highlighting the need to understand the psychological factors underlying intentions to engage in environmentally responsible action. Although the theory of planned behavior (TPB) has been widely used to explain such intentions and inform policy and educational planning, incorporating emotional and risk-related factors may strengthen its explanatory power. This study examined whether integrating compassion toward the ocean environment and perceived threat from marine debris into the TPB model could improve the explanation of marine debris behavioral intentions among adolescent girls. The traditional TPB model explained 73% of the variance in behavioral intention (R2 = 0.73), whereas the extended model incorporating compassion and perceived threat explained 81% (R2 = 0.81). These findings suggest that compassion and perceived threat may contribute to understanding the psychological pathways associated with intentions to support ocean sustainability. The study offers implications for sustainability-oriented policy communication and formal and informal ocean education, highlighting the potential value of integrating emotional concern and awareness of marine debris threats into efforts to encourage responsible ocean stewardship. Further research is needed to examine how these behavioral intentions translate into sustained action.