What is the relationship among environmental pollution, environmental behavior, and public health in China? A study based on CGSS.

China's increasing environmental pollution has caused concern for public health, so it is worth demonstrating the relationship between environmental behaviors and public health. To this end, this study examines the relationship between public health and both pollution and environmental behavior, based on micro-data and the ordered multinomial logistic regression model. It has been found that (1) external environmental pollution and subjectively perceived pollution have negation correlation with public health. Specially, air pollution and domestic waste pollution have significant associations and mainly with public mental health, (2) the environmental behavior of government and individual has an intermediary role, and (3) there is regional heterogeneity in the association between environmental pollution and public health. Residents in eastern China are more willing to mitigate the health damage caused by environmental pollution through individual environmental behavior, whereas those in central and western China emphasize government behavior. Finally, it is encouraged to actively implement environmental protection behaviors to improve the external environment and pay attention to the public's mental health.