Examining children’s active school travel at the neighbourhood scale: accessibility and ethno-socioeconomic disparities in Auckland, New Zealand

Active school travel (AST), such as walking or biking to/from school, involves physical effort and situational awareness, making it a potentially health-enhancing cognitive activity. However, whether AST is related to cognitive functioning among children has rarely been explored. Hence, this study aims to examine associations between AST and spatial cognitive functions and explore potential moderating factors. Cross-sectional study. Primary caregivers of 510 children aged 8–12 years from Australia reported patterns of AST. Children completed three visuospatial cognitive tests: working memory, mental rotation, and situational awareness (recalling route landmarks and directions). Adjusted linear regressions were conducted to test associations. Interaction terms were used to explore moderation by gender, independent travel experience, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and team sports participation. Adjusted regression analysis showed no significant associations between AST and cognitive outcomes. MVPA moderated the association between walking to school and route directions (B = −0.59, 95% CI [−0.99, −0.19], p = 0.004), with weak evidence of moderation of the association between biking to school and route landmarks (B = −0.90, 95% CI [−1.98, 0.17], p = 0.099). Team sports moderated the association between biking and working memory (B = 8.71, 95% CI [2.01, 15.42], p = 0.011). While regular AST was not directly linked to better spatial cognition, some moderating effects of MVPA and team sport were found. Future research should include longitudinal or experimental study designs, incorporate objective active (school) travel measures, and explore additional dimensions like distance, duration, speed, and cognitive engagement. • Children who engaged in active school travel did not show better spatial cognitive skills compared to other children. • The Route Recall Task proved to be feasible and applicable for assessing situational awareness during active travel. • The association between AST and working memory was more favourable for those who did team sports. • Some associations were slightly more favourable among those with lower MVPA.

2377 - What Contributes to High Rates of Active School Travel? Perspectives of Exemplar Schools in New Zealand

Adolescents' environmental perceptions mediate associations between streetscape environments and active school travel

Active travel to school (ATS) provides an important source of daily physical activity and supports wellbeing. Despite policy interest, national evidence on school promotion of ATS is limited. This study aimed to: (i) estimate the prevalence and socio-demographic variations of ATS among 7–16-year-olds in Wales, UK; (ii) assess school support for ATS; and (iii) examine associations between individual and school-level factors and pupil-reported ATS. Survey data were collected from 177,715 pupils (47.1% female) in a nationally representative sample: 51,662 primary school pupils (aged 7–11 years; N = 510 schools) and 126,053 secondary school pupils (aged 11–16 years; N = 201 schools). Pupil survey data were linked with a School Environment Questionnaire completed by school staff, capturing school-level ATS policies. Multilevel logistic regression models examined associations between pupil characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity) and school characteristics (socioeconomic status, location) and ATS, adjusting for clustering by school. Overall, 34.1% of pupils reported ATS, with higher rates among primary-aged pupils (p<.001). ATS varied significantly by age, gender, and ethnicity. Pupils attending medium- or high-socioeconomic status schools were more likely, and those attending rural schools less likely, to report ATS. Most schools reported at least one ATS policy (primary: 96.7%; secondary: 93.3%), averaging four policies per school, grouped into promotion, infrastructure, training, and partnership initiatives. Among primary school pupils, each additional policy was associated with a 5% increase in odds of ATS (OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01–1.09); the trend among secondary pupils was non-significant (OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 0.99–1.14). Schools are making considerable efforts to promote ATS, yet national findings reveal persistent inequalities by age, socioeconomic status, and rurality. These results underscore the need for targeted, context-sensitive strategies to ensure equitable access to active travel opportunities across educational settings.

Built Environment Predictors of Active Travel to School Among Rural Adolescents

Longitudinal associations between the school built environment and adolescents’ physical activity: Evidence from the COMPASS study.

Children’s school journeys can provide a daily source of physical activity, social interaction, and independence. Many studies focus on quantitative analyses of factors influencing active school travel (AST) from an adult-centric perspective. This study analyses children’s and adults’ perspectives on school travel behaviour and route perceptions using qualitative walking interviews. We conducted 14 go-along interviews with primary school children and their parents along different routes to school in Leipzig, Germany. We transcribed the interviews, analysed the factors perceived to support or hinder AST and mapped the route perceptions. The results of our study provide detailed insights into individual, family and route environment-related factors of AST. Perceived traffic safety along the routes was most relevant for all parents we interviewed. The other factors differed according to the mode of transport and accompaniment. Children who regularly walk to school report on numerous positively perceived places, e.g. associated with social interaction, play, and hiding activities. Our findings suggest that enabling children to gain positive experiences along their routes might be a chance to increase active and independent school travel.

BackgroundPhysical activity plays a fundamental role in the health and well-being of children. Walking is the most common form of physical activity and the journey to and from school provides an opportunity for children to be active every day. This study examines how child and parent perceptions of barriers to active school travel influences children’s behaviour.MethodsParticipants were recruited from 48 elementary schools in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The study sample includes 1296 children (ages 9–14 years) who live within walking distance of their school, defined as 1.6 km network distance. Chi-square analysis examined differences between child and parent perceptions of barriers to active school travel. Logistic regression models examined how parent and child perceptions of barriers influence active school travel behaviour, while controlling for key intrapersonal, interpersonal, and physical environment factors.ResultsThe results indicate that there are significant differences in how parents and children perceive barriers to active school travel. Model results find older children, children without siblings, households with no vehicles, and children who live closer to school are most likely to use active school travel. Parent perceptions of barriers are found to have a greater influence on children’s active school travel behaviour than children’s perceptions. Different perceptions of barriers influence active school travel to school compared to returning home from school.ConclusionsChild and parent perceptions of barriers to active school travel differ and have different impacts on children’s travel behaviour. Understanding how child and parent perceptions of barriers differ can help policymakers and practitioners develop specialized interventions aimed at increasing children’s use of active school travel and children’s overall physical activity. Interventions used to promote active school travel should focus on safety, as well as perceptions of distance to break parental habits of routinely driving their children to school. Overall, this study highlights the importance of considering both child and parent perceptions to create a safe and accessible environment to allow for an increase in active school travel behaviour among elementary school children who live within walking distance of their school.

Whereas children's active travel to school (ATS) has confirmed benefits, only a few large national surveys of ATS exist. Using data from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) 2009-2010 US survey, we conducted a logistic regression model to estimate the odds ratios of ATS and a linear regression model to estimate the adjusted mean differences of the percentage of ATS within a school. Overall, 21.4% of children engaged in at least one way of active travel to or from school. ATS was less common for trips to school than from school. Greater distance to school was a major barrier preventing children from ATS. Children living in large cities were more likely to engage in ATS, and schools located in a large city had higher proportions of ATS rate. Children having lower family satisfaction, or engaging in a greater number of physically active days during the past week were all more likely to engage in ATS. Although ATS is low among US children, significant variation exists. HBSC is a promising data source for an ATS study. As the first study to explore the variation of ATS at school level, this research contributes uniquely to current knowledge.

Walking time to school, children's active school travel and their related factors

BackgroundChildren's possibility to be physically active is linked to their parent's socioeconomic status. The use of active travel has the potential to increase daily physical activity among children. Parents are the gate-keepers to children using active school travel (AST) and their perceptions has shown to impact children's travel mode. Few studies have explored parents' perceptions about AST in disadvantaged neighborhoods and there is a lack of knowledge of their perceptions of the physical and social environment associated with school travel. PurposeTo explore parents’ perceptions towards AST when living in disadvantaged neighborhoods. MethodsTwelve parents participated in semi-structured interviews, and a qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data. ResultsThe findings show that parents faced dilemmas, striving to facilitate AST. Parents perceptions are presented as A, B, C categories that are likely to be important when promoting AST in disadvantaged neighborhoods, Acknowledging AST advantages, Balancing barriers, and Creating opportunities to use AST. ConclusionsDespite having a positive attitude towards AST, insecure neighborhoods and social exclusion affect parents'descisions about AST. When promoting AST in disadvantaged neighborhoods, measures to enable AST should include efforts supporting community building, social participation, road safety and ways of promoting bicycling. Engaging children in AST could have a positive influence on their independent mobility, thereby impacting their development and preparing them for the future.

Active School Travel the Associations between Perceptions of Road Safety and Active Travel for School Children and Their Parents - a Health Needs Assessment

Active travel to school (ATS) is positively associated with various health indicators. The rapid social, economic, and environmental changes in China provide a unique setting to study changes and predictors of ATS over time. Using logistic regression modeling, we analyzed data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey during 1997 to 2011 (N = 9487, ages 6 to 17 years) to estimate the change over time in ATS and to identify associated factors. The prevalence of reported ATS among children dropped from 95.8% in 1997 to 69.3% in 2011. ATS was common in children living closer to school, in middle school, from low-income households, with low parental education status, and those without a private vehicle. Children who were living in a metropolitan area and who had more than 40 minutes of total PA per day were less likely to report ATS. The decrease of ATS had been concurrent with the increase of the children living at a longer distance from school and the increase of household owning private vehicles which were associated with the rapid urbanization and economic growth in China. Factors associated with the decreased ATS in China are similar to other countries but the underlying reasons may be different.

Little is known about the relationship of active travel to school (ATS) with physical activity (PA) and screen time (ST) by individual and parental characteristics among adolescents, especially in China. To address the research gap, this study aimed to explore the difference of sex, age, living environment, parental occupation and education level in the relationship of ATS with PA and ST among students of grades 7–12 (aged 10–18 years) using cross-sectional data. In 13 cities of Hubei province, China, students from 39 public schools were recruited to engage in the survey. In total, 5,898 students (response rate = 89.6%) were invited into this study. Participants were required to report their ATS (including its types), PA and ST as well as sociodemographic information using a validated questionnaire. Descriptive analyses were used to report the information of all variables. Regression models were used to analyse the relationships of ATS and its types with PA and ST. In a total of 4,128 participants (boys: 50.9%; younger adolescents: 61.9%) included in the final analysis, the proportion of those with ATS was 47.3%. Regarding the types of ATS, walking accounted for over 30%, while cycling was 13.2%. Participants with ATS were more likely to have sufficient PA (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.14–1.39), especially among boys, younger adolescents and those with lower parental education level. However, ATS was not associated with ST (OR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.86–1.01). Participants with cycling had a higher odds ratio of being physically active (OR for cycling = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.27–1.70; OR for walking = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.06–1.32). The association of ATS types with PA and ST differed by gender, age, living environment and parental educational level as well as occupations. ATS may be a useful approach to increase PA among adolescents, but this should be explained by individual and parental characteristics.

Emotional perceptions and barriers to Children's active school travel in low and high socio-economic neighbourhoods in Iran