Association between the built environment, parental perceptions and children's neighborhood travel: an exploration of independent mobility licenses of Hispanic children in the San Francisco Bay Area

This paper will examine socio-demographic and environment correlates of parental licenses for independent travel, paying particular attention to differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic parents' interpretation of the built and social environment. Parental licenses for neighborhood travel, defined here as parental permission for children to walk in their neighborhoods without adult supervision, can influence children's health through the physical activity of active transport (Davison, Werder & Lawson, 2008; Page, Cooper, Griew, Davis & Hillsdon, 2009). Increased physical activity is associated with lower body-mass index, and physical activity, in turn, may be linked to features of the physical environment that afford more active travel such as trips to school (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). Licenses for independent travel are only one factor in explaining children's physical activity; other factors include the availability of motorized transport, children's perceptions of the neighborhood, recreational facilities or programs, children's competence, and parental support for physical activity (Gordon-Larsen, 2006; Trost et al., 2003). Research on independent mobility in the US has focused on children's active transport to school, while literature from the UK and Australia has investigated the general concept of independent mobility through neighborhood walking or biking. To better understand the relationship between the built environment and mobility licenses for children, this study examines responses to a survey of parents of 10-14 year old children in the San Francisco Bay Area. The study first asks if there is a relationship between the built environment and children's ability to travel unsupervised (without adults) in their neighborhoods. In addition to objective features of the built environment, the study includes parental perceptions of neighborhood, which could reflect their view of the social environment as well as the built environment. Second, this study asks if the relationship between the built environment and mobility licenses varies by the child's Hispanic ethnicity. Children's physical activity and independent mobility have been declining in recent decades in the US and UK, at the expense of individual and public health and psychosocial development (Hillman, 1990; Page, Cooper, Griew & Jago, 2010; Prezza et al., 2001; Rissotto & Giuliani, 2006). The rate of children walking or biking to school--a form of active transport - has declined in the US, while motorized transport and parent shuttling have increased (McDonald & Aalborg, 2009; Surface Transportation Policy Project, Transportation and Land Use Coalition & Latino Issues Forum, 2003). At the same time, parental restrictions have increased, presumably for fear of safety (Page et al., 2010; Valentine, 1997). Physical activity through school and sports programming has not compensated for the decline in physical activity through active transport (Brownson, Boehmer & Luke, 2005; Surface Transportation Policy Project et al., 2003).Master of City and Regional Plannin

Reliability and validity of the Safe Routes to school parent and student surveys

Abstract Background The purpose of this study is to assess the reliability and validity of the U.S. National Center for Safe Routes to School's in-class student travel tallies and written parent surveys. Over 65,000 tallies and 374,000 parent surveys have been completed, but no published studies have examined their measurement properties. Methods Students and parents from two Charlotte, NC (USA) elementary schools participated. Tallies were conducted on two consecutive days using a hand-raising protocol; on day two students were also asked to recall the previous days' travel. The recall from day two was compared with day one to assess 24-hour test-retest reliability. Convergent validity was assessed by comparing parent-reports of students' travel mode with student-reports of travel mode. Two-week test-retest reliability of the parent survey was assessed by comparing within-parent responses. Reliability and validity were assessed using kappa statistics. Results A total of 542 students participated in the in-class student travel tally reliability assessment and 262 parent-student dyads participated in the validity assessment. Reliability was high for travel to and from school (kappa > 0.8); convergent validity was lower but still high (kappa > 0.75). There were no differences by student grade level. Two-week test-retest reliability of the parent survey (n = 112) ranged from moderate to very high for objective questions on travel mode and travel times (kappa range: 0.62 - 0.97) but was substantially lower for subjective assessments of barriers to walking to school (kappa range: 0.31 - 0.76). Conclusions The student in-class student travel tally exhibited high reliability and validity at all elementary grades. The parent survey had high reliability on questions related to student travel mode, but lower reliability for attitudinal questions identifying barriers to walking to school. Parent survey design should be improved so that responses clearly indicate issues that influence parental decision making in regards to their children's mode of travel to school

Reliability and validity of the Safe Routes to school parent and student surveys

Abstract Background The purpose of this study is to assess the reliability and validity of the U.S. National Center for Safe Routes to School's in-class student travel tallies and written parent surveys. Over 65,000 tallies and 374,000 parent surveys have been completed, but no published studies have examined their measurement properties. Methods Students and parents from two Charlotte, NC (USA) elementary schools participated. Tallies were conducted on two consecutive days using a hand-raising protocol; on day two students were also asked to recall the previous days' travel. The recall from day two was compared with day one to assess 24-hour test-retest reliability. Convergent validity was assessed by comparing parent-reports of students' travel mode with student-reports of travel mode. Two-week test-retest reliability of the parent survey was assessed by comparing within-parent responses. Reliability and validity were assessed using kappa statistics. Results A total of 542 students participated in the in-class student travel tally reliability assessment and 262 parent-student dyads participated in the validity assessment. Reliability was high for travel to and from school (kappa > 0.8); convergent validity was lower but still high (kappa > 0.75). There were no differences by student grade level. Two-week test-retest reliability of the parent survey (n = 112) ranged from moderate to very high for objective questions on travel mode and travel times (kappa range: 0.62 - 0.97) but was substantially lower for subjective assessments of barriers to walking to school (kappa range: 0.31 - 0.76). Conclusions The student in-class student travel tally exhibited high reliability and validity at all elementary grades. The parent survey had high reliability on questions related to student travel mode, but lower reliability for attitudinal questions identifying barriers to walking to school. Parent survey design should be improved so that responses clearly indicate issues that influence parental decision making in regards to their children's mode of travel to school.</p