A Study on the Effects of Urban Residents' Self-Leadership and Perception on their Intention to Participate in Care Farming

ABSTRACT

Background and objective: With the desire for a healthy life and healing amid the environmental changes caused by the global climate crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic, people's interest in care farming (CF) is growing. Therefore, this study aims to derive implications for the revitalization of CF by empirically analyzing the relationship between the effects on the intention to participate in CF. Methods: A survey was conducted (June 16, 2022-July 25, 2022) using a structured questionnaire targeting city residents in Seoul and the metropolitan area to identify their intention to participate in CF. For the collected data of 255 copies of the questionnaire finally selected here, basic statistical analysis, correlation analysis, reliability, factor analysis, regression analysis, and moderating effect verification were performed to verify hypotheses established based on the research model. The Jamovi statistical package was used. Results: The results of this study are as follows. First, self-leadership and perceptual factor had a significantly positive (+) effect on the intention to participate in CF. Second, farming experience and mentoring, which are pulling factors between self-leadership and intention to participate in CF, had a statistically significant moderation effect. Third, farming experience, which is one of the pull factors between perceptual factor and intention to participate in CF, had a statistically significant moderation effect, but mentoring did not. Conclusion: Based on the results, this study determined the causal relationship between self-leadership and perceptual factor as a determinant affecting urban residents' intention to participate in CF. In addition, the necessity of a policy and practical approach was suggested depending on the level of farming or mentoring experience by verifying the moderation effect of pull factors. © 2023, The Society of People, Plants, and Environment. All rights reserved.