Attitude and willingness of biodiversity conservation in Chinese university students: Associated factors and the mediation of social support

accounted for less than a half (45.08%); a predominant majority of students were undergradu- ates (73.22%); 31.53% majored in agriculture or forestry. All surveyed students reported a high level of attitude or willingness to practice in biodiversity conservation: 68.68% deemed biodi- versity conservation as “very important”, and 84.88% were willing to participate in biodiversity conservation activities that were around them. 3.2 Associated factors of attitude and willingness to practice in biodiversity conservation For attitude of biodiversity conservation, multivariate binary logistic regression model revealed that, after adjustment, major, average score of the courses, and average score of social support were prominently associated with attitude to practice in biodiversity conservation: compared with university students who majored in agriculture or forestry, those who majored in other subjects were less likely to perceive that biodiversity conservation is “very important” Table 1. General characteristics of study subjects (N = 1475). Characteristics N (%)/Median (Inter-quartiles-range, IQR) Sex: Male 665 (45.08) Race: Han majority 1105 (74.92) Single child: Yes 351 (23.80) Education level of father Primary school and below 548 (37.15) Junior high school 620 (42.03) Senior high school and above 307 (20.81) Education level of mother Primary school and below 742 (50.31) Junior high school 494 (33.49) Senior high school and above 239 (16.20) Family residence Village 1037 (70.31) Township or city 438 (29.69) Student type Pre-college students 279 (18.92)

Undergraduates 1080 (73.22) Postgraduates 116 (7.86) Major Agriculture or forestry 465 (31.53) Other 1010 (68.47) Average score of courses �80 632 (42.85) <80 843 (57.15) Social support Average score in general 3.95 (0.62) Average score for parents 3.89 (0.89) Average score for teachers 4.00 (0.70) Average score for classmates 4.00 (0.70) Average score for close friends 4.00 (0.70) Attitude of biodiversity conservation: very important 1013 (68.68) Willingness to practice biodiversity conservation: willing to 1252 (84.88) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307510.t001 PLOS ONE Attitude and willingness of bio-conservation in Chinese university students PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307510 July 19, 2024 4 / 9