Developing a Questionnaire for Measuring Wilderness Attitudes of Students in Germany

Abstract

In the present study a questionnaire for measuring the attitude towards wilderness in Germany was developed. Therefore, 280 students in tenth grade were surveyed about their attitudes towards wild landscapes, wild animals and their appreciation of the protection of wilderness in Germany. The data was analysed with the help of exploratory factor analysis and partial-least-squares structural equation modelling as a form of confirmatory factor analysis. These methods resulted in a third-order hierarchical component model, which indicates, that the measured constructs contribute significantly to the establishment of the higher-order factor "attitude towards wilderness". The developed questionnaire can be considered as a valid, reliable and target-group-specific instrument for measuring attitudes towards wilderness.