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Table 2 Bivariate associations of cycling to/from school ≥ 1 trip/week with individual, social and environmental variables

From: On your bike! a cross-sectional study of the individual, social and environmental correlates of cycling to school

  

Boys

 

Girls

  

Cycles ≥ 1 trip/week

 

Cycles ≥ 1 trip/week

Variables

Item

Reliability Φ

% No (n = 394)

% Yes (n = 179)

% No

(n = 533)

% Yes

(n = 91)

Individual factors

     

Family factors

     

Maternal education§

0.96 (97.6%)‡

    

   - Less than Secondary

 

25.0

30.0

30.3

25.0 #

   - Secondary/trade/diploma

 

56.3

52.4

52.2

65.5

   - Bachelor degree or higher

 

18.7

17.6

17.5

9.5

Maternal employment§

0.92 (96.4%)‡

    

   - None

 

21.6

29.6 #

29.2

20.3

   - Part-time

 

50.2

41.4

47.3

56.5

   - Full-time

 

28.2

29.0

23.5

23.2

Adult home after school on most days§

0.32 (91.6%)‡

80.1

71.9*

83.6

72.6*

Scheduling commitments before/after school§

0.56 (79.3%)‡

40.6

21.6***

37.6

28.7

Child factors & perceptions

     

Overweight or obese

-

20.2

27.8 #

23.8

23.0

Cycling is child's preferred school transport mode¥

0.61 (80.5%)‡

47.8

85.1***

30.7

71.4***

Cycling to school is cool¥a

0.62ж

50.8

73.7***

47.9

64.8**

Cycling to school is more convenient¥a

0.67ж

45.2

74.9***

36.8

68.1***

Confident in ability to cycle to school without adult¥a

0.67ж

81.7

96.6***

73.1

87.9**

Feels safer being driven to school than cycling¥a

0.60ж

29.2

14.0***

30.3

19.8*

Would feel safe whilst cycling to school¥a

0.68ж

50.0

67.0***

37.0

50.5*

Social factors

     

Parent perceptions b

     

Very/extremely fearful child may be injured if they cycled to school without adult§c

0.62ж

22.7

11.2**

26.9

18.6

Very/extremely fearful of stranger danger§c

0.91ж

87.6

79.9*

90.3

75.6***

Often sees/hears news items about traffic dangers §c

0.40ж

49.7

42.1 #

52.0

39.5*

Child has a lot to carry§

0.57 (75.9%)‡

18.6

8.0**

19.9

13.8

Driving child to school is more convenient§

0.44 (65.4%)‡

42.2

23.9***

45.6

22.7***

It is irresponsible to let children cycle to school with other children, without adult§a

0.71ж

9.3

5.1 #

15.3

6.9*

Disapproval from others§

0.53ж

3.8

0.7 #

4.8

1.5

Perceives child's preference is to cycle§

0.60 (80.9%)‡

35.8

75.8***

20.4

70.0***

Confident in child's ability to cycle without adult§a

0.67ж

73.2

97.8***

69.3

91.1***

The school encourages students to cycle to school§

0.71 (80.5%)‡

90.2

95.2 #

90.9

92.9

Child perceptions

     

Peer support¥a

0.80ж

45.4

63.1***

27.4

41.8**

My school would like students to cycle to school¥a

0.45ж

53.8

62.0 #

55.2

54.9

I have many friends in my neighborhood¥

0.76 (87.9%)‡

69.6

77.7*

66.2

75.8 #

Physical environmental factors d

     

Parent perceptions

     

Neighborhood is safe enough for children to cycle to school with friends§a

0.62ж

60.2

80.4***

63.0

81.3**

There are steep hills§

0.69 (86.8%)‡

10.6

8.0

12.7

3.4*

My child would have to cross a busy road§

0.68 (83.1%)‡

46.9

27.8***

43.3

21.8***

There are no safe crossings for my child to use§

0.69 (81.9%)‡

30.2

21.0*

30.9

16.1**

There is a lot of traffic near the school§

0.65ж

53.6

36.9***

52.3

35.6**

Drivers near school often exceed the speed limit§a

0.64ж

65.6

64.8

63.5

53.9 #

Child perceptions

     

There are safe places to leave bikes at my school¥a

0.74ж

74.9

82.1 #

79.7

86.8

I would have to cross a busy road¥a

0.45ж

48.2

50.8

44.5

59.3**

I feel safe crossing the road near my school¥a

0.56ж

74.1

82.7*

72.7

72.5

Objective Environmental factors

     

School walkability index

-

    

   High

 

45.4

45.8**

47.5

51.6

   Low

 

54.6

54.2

52.5

48.4

Road traffic volume

-

    

   High

 

54.6

54.2**

52.5

48.4

   Low

 

45.4

45.8

47.5

51.6

Pedshed

-

    

   High connectivity

 

50.5

51.4*

54.4

63.7 #

   Low connectivity

 

49.5

48.6

45.6

36.3

Distance (km)

     

   Mean [SE]

 

2.0[0.2]

1.2[0.1]*** 1.6[0.1] 1.3[0.2]*

  
  1. SE = standard error, km = kilometer #p ≤ 0.10 *p ≤ 0.05 **p ≤ 0.01 ***p ≤ 0.001, ‡Kappa (% agreement), ¥Item based on child self-report, §Item based on parent self-report, жICC, ΦReliability based on how items were originally measured not on how recoded for analysis.
  2. aMeasured on a 5-point Likert scale coded 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree then recoded into two categories: disagree (disagree, strongly disagree or neither) or agree (agree, strongly agree)
  3. bSocial factors with no significant bivariate association with cycling to school included the following three items: child's fear of stranger danger; parent perception that other parents in their child's grade allow their child to cycle to school without an adult; whether the parent often sees/hears news items promoting cycling or walking
  4. cMeasured on a 5-point Likert scale coded 1 = not at all fearful and 5 = extremely fearful then recoded into two categories: not fearful (not at all fearful, not very fearful, somewhat fearful) or fearful (very fearful, extremely fearful).
  5. dPerceived environmental factors with no significant bivariate association with cycling to school included the following five items: child perceived neighborhood friendliness, heavy traffic around the school, heavy traffic around the neighborhood; parent perceived lack of footpaths and neighborhood friendliness
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International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

ISSN: 1479-5868

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