Young adolescents' independent mobility, related factors and association with transport to school. A cross-sectional study

Built for movement: Neighborhoods and adolescent physical activity behaviors, and the moderating role of socioeconomic position and gender

This study examined whether the built environment was associated with physical activity among adolescents in Oslo, Norway, and the role of socioeconomic position and gender as potential moderators of this association. We used data from 897 adolescents who participated in the TACKLE cross-sectional study conducted in 2020. Built environment features (recreational facilities, parks, forest, public transport, traffic calming devices, and schools) were assessed objectively using Geographical Information Systems. Physical activity data included device-measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, total physical activity, and self-reported active transportation to school. Using general linear models and logistic regression, we found that most built environment features were unrelated to the participants' device-measured physical activity. Longer distances to school and to traffic calming devices were associated with decreased likelihood of participants reporting active transportation to school. Our moderated regression analysis showed that adolescents with low socioeconomic backgrounds seemed less affected by longer distances to school compared with their high socioeconomic counterparts. Furthermore, boys appeared to be more sensitive to traffic safety relative to girls. Implementing traffic calming devices may enhance active transportation to school and improve traffic safety for Norwegian adolescents.

Children's independent mobility during dark hours: a scoping review

Introduction

Independent mobility is every child's right and has implications for their health, wellbeing, and development. This scoping review addresses children's needs and experiences of light conditions in their everyday outdoor life. The review examines peer-reviewed scientific literature that analyses associations between different light conditions and children's independent mobility (CIM) during dark hours.

Methods

By formulating a Boolean search string, including terms related to children independent mobility, light and outdoor environment, five scientific databases were searched. The search resulted in 67 eligible papers that were analyzed through an inductive, thematic analysis.

Results

Four overarching themes representing the researched topics of the effects of light conditions with importance for CIM during dark hours were identified: (1) physical activity (PA) and active travel, (2) outdoor activities and place use, (3) safety perception, and (4) outdoor risks. The findings highlight that darkness constitutes a major obstacle for CIM, and that fear of darkness is common among children. It restricts the degree of CIM and influences children's safety perception as well as how they navigate through public places outdoors. The findings show that the type and design of outdoor settings during dark hours and children's familiarity with places during daytime could play a role in the degree of CIM after dark. The presence of outdoor lighting is related to children's increased PA and active travel, and outdoor lighting seems to also influence children's place use and interaction with the environment. The presence and extent of outdoor lighting and lighting quality may play a role in children's safety perception, which in turn can influence CIM.

Discussion

The findings suggest that promoting CIM during dark hours might not only contribute to the accumulation of children's PA, confidence, and skills, but also support mental health. The understanding of children's perspectives on the quality of outdoor lighting needs to be deepened to support CIM. Highlighting the child perspective would aid the development of current recommendations for outdoor lighting and the implementation of the Agenda 2030 of ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing for all at all ages, and making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable throughout the day and seasons.

Active Commuting and Healthy Behavior among Adolescents in Neighborhoods with Varying Socioeconomic Status: The NESLA Study

(1) Background: The World Health Organization recommends active commuting as a source of physical activity. Active commuting is determined by various factors, including the socioeconomic status (SES) of families and neighborhoods, distance to schools, perceived neighborhood safety, lifestyles and availability of walkways and biking paths. This study aimed to assess factors associated with modes of transportation to and from school among adolescents aged 16–19 living in a middle-sized city in Sweden. (2) Method: Three hundred and fourteen students, of whom 55% were females, from schools in the city of Västerås participated in the study. Printed as well as web-based self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the data. (3) Results: Adolescents living in high SES neighborhoods were 80% more likely to bike or walk to school (OR = 1.80; CI: 1.01, 3.20) than adolescents living in low SES neighborhoods. Furthermore, active commuting was associated with higher consumption of fruits and vegetables (OR = 1.77; CI: 1.05, 2.97) and less consumption of junk foods (OR = 0.43; CI: 0.26, 0.71), as compared to passive commuting. (4) Conclusions: Active commuting is a cost-effective and sustainable source of regular physical activity and should be encouraged at a societal level.

Mobility Patterns of Students: Evidence from Tricity Area, Poland

Generational change is one of the vital socioeconomic forces affecting the global economic environment. In many studies, the youngest generations are presented as the ones changing the market trends. This can also be observed in areas of travel demand and mobility patterns. However, research on those topics in many countries, for many societies, is scarce. This study aimed to examine the travel behavior of Polish young adults, namely students living in the Tricity area. Factor analysis and ANOVA were used to analyze the data gathered via an online survey assessing the characteristics of mobility patterns of students born between 1981 and 1999. Factor analysis allowed grouping the attitudes towards traveling among those young adults (Y Generation, Y’s, Y Gen). Three factors were identified, and they were associated with luxury and self-expression, freedom and comfort, safety and environmental friendliness. The driver’s characteristics were the least consistent with the classic image of typical Y’s, and those using the active commute—the most. In turn, the largest group were people using public transport, which partially presented convergent opinions with drivers and users of the active commute. It turned out that the car drivers, active commuters and respondents utilizing public transport differed not only in their behavior and presentation of Y Gen characteristics but also in their attitude towards categories such as comfort, desire for luxury, economy or ecology. This study is a complex analysis of the mobility patterns of students in the Tricity area. It presents the set of variables influencing the travel demand of the chosen age group. The study also compares the presented travel choices with those declared by representatives of other nations. Finally, it indicates the next research problems to be addressed in future research.

Between Privilege and Oppression: An Intersectional Analysis of Active Transportation Experiences Among Washington D.C. Area Youth

The use of active transportation (AT), such as walking, cycling, or even public transit, as a means of transport offers an opportunity to increase youth physical activity and improve health. Despite the well-known benefits of AT, there are environmental and social variables that converge on the AT experiences of low-income youth and youth of color (YOC) that have yet to be fully uncovered. This study uses an intersectional framework, largely focusing on the race-gender-class trinity, to examine youth AT within a context of transportation inequity. Theoretically guided by the Ecological Model of Active Transportation, focus groups were completed with two groups of girls (15 participants) and two groups of boys (nine participants) ranging between the ages of 12–15 years who lived within the Washington D.C. area. This research found race, gender, and class to be inhibitors of AT for both boys and girls, but with more pronounced negative influences on girls.

Do Not Forget About Public Transportation: Analysis of the Association of Active Transportation to School Among Washington, DC Area Children With Parental Perceived Built Environment Measures

BACKGROUND

Although the active transportation (AT) indicator received an F grade on the 2016 US Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, this AT assessment excluded public transportation. An objective of the Built Environment and Active Play Study was to assess youth AT, including public transportation, among Washington, DC area children in relation to parental perceptions of neighborhood built environment (BE) variables.

METHODS

Questionnaires were mailed to 2000 parents of children aged 7-12 years. AT to school (ATS) was assessed with the question: "In an average school week, how many days does your child use each of the following ways to get to and from school? (a) Walk; (b) Bike; (c) Car; (d) Bus or Metro." Parental perceived BE data were obtained through questionnaire items, and logistic regression was conducted to determine if BE variables were associated with youth ATS.

RESULTS

The sample included 144 children (50% female; average age 9.7 years; 56.3% white; 23.7% African American; 10.4% Asian American). Over 30% used ATS-public transportation 5 days per week, and nearly 13% used ATS-walking daily. Parental perceived BE variables significantly predicted youth ATS-walking and ATS-public transportation.

CONCLUSIONS

ATS-public transportation is common among Washington, DC area youth, and parental perceptions of BE can significantly predict ATS.

Examining the Influence of a New Light Rail Line on the Health of a Demographically Diverse and Understudied Population within the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area: A Protocol for a Natural Experiment Study

Approximately two-thirds of adults and youth in Prince George's County, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. are overweight or obese and less than half are achieving daily physical activity recommendations. Active transportation (AT), such as walking, biking or using public transportation (PT), is a strategic pathway to improving physical activity levels and thus reducing excess weight. Utilizing an expansion of the Washington, D.C. area transportation system with a new light rail line, the Purple Line Outcomes on Transportation (PLOT) Study will exam pre- and post-Purple Line PT use, AT behaviors and attitudes and physical activity among Prince George's County adults and youth. The PLOT Study will take advantage of this natural experiment in an area enduring significant racial/ethnic and gender-based overweight or obesity and physical inactivity disparities. While similar natural experiments on AT have been conducted in other U.S. cities, those studies lacked diverse and representative samples. To effectively evaluate these physical activity outcomes among this population, efforts will be used to recruit African American and Latino populations, the first and second most common racial/ethnic groups in Prince George's County. Finally, the PLOT Study will also examine how contextual effects (e.g., neighborhood built environment) impact PT, AT and physical activity.

Bed-sharing and related factors in early adolescents

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the prevalence of bed-sharing and examine correlates of bed-sharing habits in early adolescents.

METHODS

Participants were 1452 early adolescents from 10 primary schools in Shanghai, China. Children's health status and past history, family environment and parents' attitude towards bed-sharing, and children's sleep arrangements were surveyed. Sleep was assessed by the Children's Sleep Habit Questionnaire. Tanner stage was determined by the endocrinologist.

RESULTS

The median of age was 10.83 years (range: 9.42-12.92; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 10.79-10.83) and boys accounted for 51.17%. The prevalence of bed-sharing was 16.8%. Positive parental attitude toward bed-sharing (OR: 9.87; 95% CI: 6.57-14.83), asthma (OR: 2.15; 95% CI: 1.16-3.98), smaller residential space (OR: 1.90; 95% CI: 1.17-3.09), extended family (OR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.16-2.18), and being physically less mature (OR: 2.39; 95% CI: 1.16-4.91) increased the likelihood of bed-sharing. Bed-sharers were more likely to have bedtime resistance (OR: 12.20; 95% CI: 8.59-17.33), sleep anxiety (OR: 3.76; 95% CI: 2.74-5.15), and poor sleep quality (OR: 3.21; 95% CI: 2.28-4.81) compared to non-bed-sharers. Furthermore, bed-sharing was associated with daytime sleepiness (OR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.10-2.13) but not with sleep duration.

CONCLUSIONS

Bed-sharing is highly prevalent among Chinese early adolescents and is significantly related to sleep quality. Parental positive attitude toward bed-sharing was the most determining factor.

Measures of outdoor play and independent mobility in children and youth: A methodological review

OBJECTIVES

Declines in children's outdoor play have been documented globally, which are partly due to heightened restrictions around children's independent mobility. Literature on outdoor play and children's independent mobility is increasing, yet no paper has summarized the various methodological approaches used. A methodological review could highlight most commonly used measures and comprehensive research designs that could result in more standardized methodological approaches.

DESIGN

Methodological review.

METHODS

A standardized protocol guided a methodological review of published research on measures of outdoor play and children's independent mobility in children and youth (0-18 years). Online searches of 8 electronic databases were conducted and studies included if they contained a subjective/objective measure of outdoor play or children's independent mobility. References of included articles were scanned to identify additional articles.

RESULTS

Twenty-four studies were included on outdoor play, and twenty-three on children's independent mobility. Study designs were diverse. Common objective measures included accelerometry, global positioning systems and direct observation; questionnaires, surveys and interviews were common subjective measures. Focus groups, activity logs, monitoring sheets, travel/activity diaries, behavioral maps and guided tours were also utilized. Questionnaires were used most frequently, yet few studies used the same questionnaire. Five studies employed comprehensive, mixed-methods designs.

CONCLUSIONS

Outdoor play and children's independent mobility have been measured using a wide variety of techniques, with only a few studies using similar methodologies. A standardized methodological approach does not exist. Future researchers should consider including both objective measures (accelerometry and global positioning systems) and subjective measures (questionnaires, activity logs, interviews), as more comprehensive designs will enhance understanding of each multidimensional construct. Creating a standardized methodological approach would improve study comparisons.

Parental leave and increased physical activity of fathers and mothers--results from the Northern Swedish Cohort

BACKGROUND

Physical activity is an important public health issue. Factors shown to be associated with physical activity are parenthood and country-level gender equality, while the importance of individual gender equality (in parenthood or in general) remains to explore. In Scandinavia, where parental leave can be shared equally between mothers and fathers, parental leave is one dimension of gender equality in parenthood. The aim of this study was to investigate parental leave in relation to increased physical activity among men and women.

METHODS

Participants in the Northern Swedish Cohort with a child born 1993-2005 (n = 584) were investigated with questionnaires at ages 21 and 42; register data on parental leave between ages 28 and 42 were obtained from Statistics Sweden. The relationships between parental leave between ages 28 and 42 and meeting WHO guidelines for physical activity at age 42, as well as changes in physical activity between ages 21 and 42, were tested with multinomial regression, controlling for socio-economic status and birth year of the child.

RESULTS

For women, the length of parental leave was not associated with increased physical activity or with meeting WHO guidelines at age 42. For men, parental leave was associated with increased physical activity, controlling for socio-economic status and age of the child, but not with meeting WHO guidelines for physical activity at age 42.

CONCLUSIONS

A gender non-traditional out-take of parental leave might be associated with an increase in physical activity among men at the lower end of the physical activity spectrum, but not among women.