Adolescents' Beliefs about the Wolf: Investigating the Potential of Human–Wolf Coexistence in the European South

Abstract

Previous research revealed a rural–urban divide in the acceptance of the wolf. We investigated adolescents’ beliefs about the wolf in rural and urban areas of Greece and Italy. By using a multiple-choice questionnaire, we attempted to reconstruct the conflictual nature of opposing beliefs about the wolf. For each item, there was one choice indicating a “pro-wolf” stance, one corresponding to an “anti-wolf” disposition, and a third, “neutral” choice. Respondents were clustered in a “pro-wolf,” an “anti-wolf,” and a “neutral” group. Rural or urban residence did not affect the classification of participants. Average responses for each cluster did reveal some degree of dispersal over rival positions. The permeability of “pro-wolf,” “anti-wolf,” and “neutral” positions might be regarded as a manifestation of the phenomenon of “cognitive polyphasia,” which refers to the cohabitation of inconsistent or contradictory beliefs. Implications for environmental education and outreach campaigns are discussed.

Keywords:

• adolescents
• beliefs
• coexistence
• cognitive polyphasia
• environmentalists
• local communities
• rural
• urban
• wolf

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the project “Improving Coexistence of Large Carnivores and Agriculture in Southern Europe—COEX” (LIFE04NAT/IT/000144). We thank Annette Mertens, Valeria Salvatori, and Jenny Glikman, for hosting the first author during his trip to Rome and for their taking over questionnaire administration in Italy. Yorgos Iliopoulos, Rena Chatzimichail, and Katsarou Maria distributed questionnaires in Greece. We are grateful to Spyros Psaroudas, Yorgos Mertzanis, Konstantinos Godes, Thanos Tragos, Nikos Nikisianis, Efi Gelastopoulou, and Eleni Deli, for their multifarious support. Konstantinos Godes, partner and co-founder of Callisto, passed away just before the authors received the proofs of the article. We are thankful to Konstantinos for his valuable contribution in large carnivore conservation.

Notes

Note. Chi-squared values refer to cross-tabulation of cluster membership by “pro-wolf,” “anti-wolf,” and “neutral” responses across questionnaire items; all chi-squared values were significant at p < .001.

Note. Chi-squared values refer to cross-tabulation of cluster membership by “pro-wolf,” “anti-wolf,” and “neutral” responses across questionnaire items; all chi-squared values were significant at p < .001.

Note. Chi-squared values refer to cross-tabulation of cluster membership by “pro-wolf,” “anti-wolf,” and “neutral” responses across questionnaire items; all chi-squared values were significant at p < .001.

Note. Figures presented correspond to the average number of items chosen across the categories of the multiple-choice format of the instrument (means can range between 1 and 9, since there were 9 questionnaire items in total); all F values were significant at the p < .001 level.

Note. Numbers presented correspond to sample characteristics within clusters; significance indicated by *p < .05, **p < .01.

Note. In total, 15 experts took part in the classification task.

In order to investigate the interrelation of beliefs about the wolf with environmental discourse issues, we included in this section of the questionnaire two items that do not refer explicitly to the wolf (i.e., “Conservation,” “Interplay”) but that are crucial for situating beliefs about the wolf within the wider frame of environmental beliefs.