It’s snowing? Keep on rolling! Individual determinants of winter cycling in Québec

Abstract

Bicycle commuting during the winter is an increasingly popular practice in Québec, Canada, that is associated with benefits for public and environmental health. Constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior and habit are associated with modes of transport and active commuting. Researchers have not yet examined whether these psychological factors are associated with winter cycling in nordic climates. The aims of the study were to describe winter bicycle users’ socio-demographic and psychological characteristics as well as perceptions of environment and assess whether the Theory of Planned Behavior and habit constructs are longitudinally associated with winter bicycle commuting. A longitudinal design with two online questionnaires was implemented between January-March 2022. The first questionnaire assessed individual variables. Four weeks later, a second questionnaire collected data on the use of winter bicycle commuting in the last seven days. A structural equation model was performed to examine longitudinal associations between psychological constructs and weekly winter cycling. The study included 624 and 487 participants at baseline and follow-up, respectively. Participants mainly identified as men (60%) and mean age was 44 years old. Our results demonstrated that attitudes (β= 0.21; 95%CI [0.06, 0.36]), perceived control (β= 0.92; 95%CI [0.61, 1.12]), intention (β= 0.53; 95%CI [0.39, 0.66]), and habit (β= 1.12; 95%CI [0.60, 1.65]) exhibited significant positive associations with engaging in bicycle commuting during winter. The level of habit had a stronger association with behavior than intention. Findings suggest that future winter cycling intervention should combine behavioral change techniques (targeting attitudes, perceived control, intention, and habit) with winter bicycle-friendly infrastructures and policies.p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; color: #000000; line-height: 115%; text-align: left; orphans: 2; widows: 2; background: transparent }p.western { font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; so-language: fr-CA }p.cjk { font-family: "Calibri"; font-size: 11pt; so-language: en-US }p.ctl { font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11pt; so-language: ar-SA }a:visited { color: #954f72; text-decoration: underline }a:link { color: #0563c1; text-decoration: underline }