Abstract
ABSTRACT Children's independent mobility (CIM) represents their freedom to travel in their neighborhood without adult supervision. Secular declines in CIM coincided with a major increase in mental health problems among children. We investigated relationships between two indicators of CIM and parent-perceived child distress in a national longitudinal study involving 2,291 Canadian parents of 7- to 12-year-olds at baseline (December 2020) with up to four follow-ups, every six months. We assessed mobility licenses (i.e. children's permission to do certain activities on their own) with 6 items, and home range (i.e. how far [in minutes] children can roam with friends and/or siblings) with a 4-point item. We used generalized estimating equations controlling for children's age and gender, household income, study wave, school attendance, and COVID-19 isolation in the week preceding the survey. At each successive time point, 51.8%, 44.0%, 43.2% and 42.4% of children experienced clinically elevated distress. Compared to children allowed to roam for 15 minutes (OR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.51-0.72) had lower odds of elevated distress. However, CIM licenses were not associated with distress. Our findings underscore the need to support extending children's home range.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
