Active commuting to school: Associations with environment and parental concerns.

Full Abstract

PURPOSE:
This study examined the association of objective and perceived neighborhood environmental characteristics and parent concerns with active commuting to school, investigated whether parental concerns varied by environmental characteristics, and compared the association of the perceived environment, parental concerns, and objective environment on the outcome active commuting to school.

METHODS:
Randomly selected parents of children (aged 5-18 yr), in neighborhoods chosen for their variability in objectively measured walkability and income, completed questionnaires about their neighborhood environment, concerns about children walking to school, and children's behavior (N = 259). Objective measures of the environment were available for each participant and each neighborhood. Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the relationships among environment, parental concerns, and walking or biking to or from school at least once a week.

RESULTS:
A parental concerns scale was most strongly associated with child active commuting (odds ratio:
5.2, 95%

CI:
2.71-9.96). In high-income neighborhoods, more children actively commuted in high-walkable (34%) than in low-walkable neighborhoods (23%) (odds ratio:
2.1, 95%

CI:
1.12-3.97), but no differences were noted in low-income neighborhoods. Parent concerns and neighborhood aesthetics were independently associated with active commuting. Perceived access to local stores and biking or walking facilities accounted for some of the effect of walkability on active commuting.

CONCLUSION:
Both parent concerns and the built environment were associated with children's active commuting to school. To increase active commuting to school, interventions that include both environmental change and education campaigns may be needed.

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Author information

Author/s: Kerr, Jacqueline (J); Rosenberg, Dori (D); Sallis, James F (JF); Saelens, Brian E (BE); Frank, Lawrence D (LD); Conway, Terry L (TL);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92103, USA. jkerr(-atsign-)projects.sdsu.edu

Grants: HL67350 (Agency:NHLBI NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

Journal: Medicine and science in sports and exercise (Med Sci Sports Exerc), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Apr; vol 38 (issue 4) : pp 787-94

Dates: Created 2006/05/08; Completed 2006/06/08; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 16679998, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Child
Child Welfare
Child, Preschool
Environment Design
Female
Humans
Male

Male
Middle Aged
Parents - psychology
Residence Characteristics
Risk Factors
Safety
Sampling Studies
Schools
Walking - physiology
Washington

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