Table 3 Characteristics of studies on perceived barriers of children’s active commuting to school (N = 39)
Lead author/year/country | Journal | Sample size | Children's grades/Ages/ethnicity | Independent variables/Program | Select findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Babey (2009), US | Journal of Public Health Policy | 3,893 parent-child pairs | 12-17 years | Individual, family, and environmental characteristics with ACS | (1) Rate of ACS: 49.8% walked, biked or skateboarded to or from school at least once a week, 25% ACS 3 or more days per week. |
(2) Correlates of ACS: distance (-), male (+), Latino (+), from lower-income families (+), attending public school (+), and living in urban areas (+); parental supervision (-), and parent knowing little or nothing about adolescents’ whereabouts after school (+). | |||||
Bringolf-Isler (2007), Switzerland | Preventive Medicine | 1,345 | 1st, 4th, 8th graders | Personal and family factors, environmental data (GIS) | (1) Rate of ACS: 77.8%. |
(2) Predictors for non-active commuting: child’s age (+), number of cars in the household (+), daycare attendance (+), parental safety concerns (+), and belonging to French-speaking population (+). | |||||
Carson (2010), Canada | Revue Canadienne De Sante Publique | 3421 parent-child pairs | 5th grade | Socio-demographic characteristics, parental perceptions of neighborhood environment. | (1) Rate of ACS: 39%. |
(2) Predictors of ACS: neighborhood with high perceived sidewalks/parks (+). | |||||
Carver (2005), Australia | American Journal of Health Promotion | 345 parent-child pairs | 12-13 years | Socio-demographic characteristics, parental perceptions of neighborhood environment. | (1) Rate of ACS: Walking for boys: 39%; walking for girls: 46%; biking for boys: 10% (17/172); biking for girls: 1% (2/175). |
(2) Predictors of ACS: For boys: no significant bivariate associations between perceptions of the neighborhood and boys’ walking to/from school; For girls: having friends living in the neighborhood (+), lots of other boys/girls to “hang out” with (+) and parents’ concerns about busy traffic (-). | |||||
D’Haese (2011), Belgium | International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity | 696 | 6th grade | Distance, criterion distance (i.e., cumulative percentages of children commuting to school by bike, on foot, and in a passive way, per covered distance), and environmental perceptions | (1) Rate of ACS: 38.1% by bike, 21.1% walk. |
(2) Correlates of ACS: Perceived accessibility to walk (+). | |||||
Emond (2011), US | Journal of Transport Geography | 1,357 | 10th-12th graders | Socio-demographics and attitudinal factors (individual factors, social-environment factors, and physical-environment factors), distance (home location geo-coded) | (1) Rate of biking: 32.7% to school, 33.4% from school. |
(2) Correlates of biking: perceived bicycling comfort (+), parental encouragement (+), perceived distance (-), having to cross a freeway (-), confidence in one’s bicycling ability (+), being males (+). | |||||
Evenson (2006), US | International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity | 480 | 6th and 8th graders | Socio-demographics, perceived safety, aesthetics, and facilities near the home; parental provision of transportation. | (1) The 24 individual items on safety, aesthetics, facilities near the home, and transportation mostly indicated fair to moderate reliability. (2) Predictors of ACS: Perceived neighborhood safety concern (“walkers and bikers on the streets in my neighborhood can easily be seen by people in their homes”) (-); more physical activity facilities (+). |
Fries (2012), US | Advances in Transportation Studies an international journal | 12,613 | Kindergarten through 8th grade | N/A | (1) Rate of ACS: 14.8%. |
(2) Top parental perceived barriers for urban and suburban children: intersection safety and traffic speed/volume. Distance from school affected suburban students more than urban students. | |||||
Fulton (2005), US | Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport | 1,395 parent-child pairs | 4th grad through 12th grade | Demographics, body mass index, behavioral, psychosocial, attitudinal, and environmental characteristics. | (1) Rate of ACS: 14%. |
(2) Predictors of ACS: having sidewalks (+), boys (+), lower grades (+). | |||||
Heelan (2008), US | Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance | 150 | School age | Seven categories of perceived barriers to ACS. | (1) Predictors of ACS: whether or not the child wanted to actively commute (+), having enough time (+), busy streets (-), child maturity (+), carpool availability (-), and crosswalks (-). |
(2) Perceived barriers of ACS by frequency: safety concerns, busy streets, weather, time, convenience. | |||||
Hume (2007), Australia | American Journal of Health Promotion | 280 | 10 year olds, grade 5 | Perceived physical and social environmental characteristics | (1)Frequencies of walking to/from school per week for boys: 2.07, for girls: 1.66. |
(2) Perceived barriers of ACS for boys: number of accessible destinations in the neighborhood (+). | |||||
(3) Perceived predictors of ACS for girls: having a neighborhood that was easy to walk/cycle around (+) and perceiving lots of graffiti (+). | |||||
Hume (2009), Australia | American Journal of Preventive Medicine | 309 | Children aged 5-6 and children aged 10-12 | Demographics, individual-level predictors, social environmental predictors, physical environmental predictors | (1) Rates of ACS: Walking 2.9 mean trips/week, biking 0.4 mean trips/week; ACS 1-5 trips/week: 39.7%; ACS daily 22.3%. |
(2) ACS significantly increased between 2004 and 2006 among children and adolescents. | |||||
(3) Predictors of ACS: children of parents who reported that the child had many friends in their areas (+), adolescents whose parents perceived insufficient traffic lights and pedestrian crossings in their neighborhood (-), adolescents of parents who were satisfied with the number of pedestrian crossings (+). | |||||
Kerr (2006), US | Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise | 259 | 5-18 years old | Objective measures, including the neighborhood and individual walkability index, and subjective measures, including socio-demographic variables and perception of the local environment (e.g., residential density, street connectivity, and crime safety). | (1) Rate of ACS: 18.1% walked or biked 5 days a week, and 25.1% actively commuted at least once a week. |
(2) Correlates of ACS: Parent concerns and neighborhood aesthetics were independently associated with ACS. Perceived access to local stores and biking or walking facilities accounted for some of the effect of walkability on ACS. | |||||
Lee (2013), US | Annals of Behavioral Medicine | 601 parent-child pairs | Hispanic predominant | Environmental perceptions about walkability, safety concerns, and parental attitudes and preferences | (1) Parental attitudes and children’s preferences were associated with the odds of walking. |
(2) Safety concerns (traffic danger, stranger danger, and getting lost) were higher among drivers, but only significant in bivariate analyses. | |||||
Loucaides (2010), Cyprus | Central European Journal of Public Health | 1966 | Grades 1-12 | Personal, social and environmental characteristics | (1) Rates of ACS: 19.4%. |
(2) Predictors of ACS: having enough time in the morning to walk to school (+) and parents feeling that it was safe for children to walk to school (+), and long distance from home to school (-). | |||||
McMillan (2007), US | Transportation Research Part A | 1128 | Grades 3-5 | Urban form demographics, caregivers’ beliefs, perceptions and attitudes about travel by different modes, household demographics | Correlates of ACS: urban form (+), perceived neighborhood safety concerns (-), perceived traffic safety concerns (-), household transportation options (+), caregiver valuing social interaction (+), caregiver reporting driving more convenient (-), social/cultural norms (+), and socio-demographics (-). |
Mendoza (2010), US | Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk | 149 | Grade 4, Latino subsample | Socio-demographics, child self-efficacy, parent self-efficacy, parent outcome expectations, perceived neighborhood safety, observed pedestrian safety behaviors | (1) Rate of ACS: 43%. |
(2) Predictors of ACS: parent self-efficacy (+) for the full sample, parent outcome expectations (+) for Latino children. | |||||
(3) ACS was positively associated with daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. | |||||
Mendoza (2011), US | Pediatrics | 149 | Grade 4 | Socio-demographics, child self-efficacy, parent self-efficacy, parent outcome expectations, perceived neighborhood safety, observed pedestrian safety behaviors | (1)Acculturation (+) and parent outcome expectations (+) were significantly associated with the change in percent active commuting. |
(2) Positive associations between active commuting and physical activity. | |||||
Merom (2006), Australia | Health& Place | 812 | 5-12 years | Socio-demographics, parents’ perceptions about safe environment, child’s enjoyment of walking, and perceived health benefits of ACS, child’s level of independence, parents’ modes of transport to work | (1) Rate of frequent ACS: 37%; Rates of regular ACS: 22%. |
(2) Predictors of ACS: distance (-), child’s age (+), parental perceptions of road safety (-), and attending public school (+). | |||||
Miller (2013), US | American Journal of Health Behavior | 74 parent-child pairs | Grades 1-6 | Age, designated time periods, gender, parent vs. child, normal weight vs. overweight | (1) Children were most active after and least active before and during school. |
(2) Weight was not related to activity. | |||||
(3) Boys were more confident than girls, whereas parents felt more confident than children did about active transport. | |||||
Mota (2007), Portugal | Annals of Human Biology | 705 | Grades 7-12 | Socio-economic position, environmental assessment, including connectivity of the street network, infrastructure for walking and cycling, neighborhood safety, and social environment. | (1) Rate of ACS: 52.6%. |
(2) Predictors of ACS: occupational status of mother (-) and father (-), father’s educational level (-), street connectivity (+), father’s occupation (+), perceived presence of four-way intersections (+). | |||||
Nelson (2010), Ireland | Journal of Physical Activity and Health | 2159 | 15 to 17 years | Socio-demographics, perceived physical environmental characteristics | (1) Rates of ACS: 61.3% walked and 8.7% cycled. |
(2) Correlates of ACS in the final model for boys: perceived land-use-mix diversity (+), perceived presence of public parks (+); for girls: traffic safety (-), visibility (+), the presence of cycle tracks (+), and the ease of walking/cycling to transit (+). | |||||
Panter (2010), England | Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health | 2012 | 9-10 years | Socio-demographics, attitudes, perceptions, and social support. | (1) Rates of ACS: 54%; 40% walking and 9% biking. |
(2) Correlates of ACS: boy (+) for biking, girl (+) for walking, distance less than 1 km (+), mothers ACS (+), parental attitude (+), parental safety concerns (-), the presence of social support from parents and friends, (+), parental perceived neighborhood walkability (+). | |||||
Price (2011), US | Journal of School Health | 314 | N/A | respondents type, school type, respondents’ perceptions of ACS factors | (1) Top 3 factors of ACS by frequency: distance to school, traffic speeds, and traffic volume. |
(2) Several participants expressed concerns about liability issues related to students’ ACS. | |||||
(3) Some reported that schools are not responsible for students’ safety once students leave school grounds. | |||||
Ridgewell (2009), Australia | Urban Policy and Research | 248 students, 128 parents | 8-11 years | N/A | Rates of ACS: 21.0% walking to school, 25.3% walking from school; 4.7% biking to school, 4.3% biking from school. |
Rodriguez (2009), US | Journal of School Health | 1,897 | Grades 3-5 | Socio-demographics, environmental factors, access factors, attitude factors | (1) Rates of ACS: 11.1% walked, 1.4% biked. |
(2) Predictors of ACS: age (+), perceptions that walking saves time (+), distance (-), car ownership (-), access to a school bus (-). | |||||
Rojas-Guyler (2007), US | Californian Journal of Health Promotion | 71 | N/A | Principals’ beliefs conducive to children and health. | (1) Rate of ACS: Mean percentage of ACS was 11.77%. |
(2) The number of students using ACS did not significantly differ between schools with a restrictive policy and schools with no restrictive policy. Principals at schools with higher ACS rates were significantly more likely to report that students should consider ACS if residing within one mile, had significantly more enabling environments, and had significantly less restrictive environments. | |||||
Rossen (2011), US | Journal of Physical Activity and Health | 365 | Grades 3-5 | Street block-residence characteristics, individual-level characteristics, perceived safe neighborhood etc., | (1) Rate of ACS: 56% walked. |
(2) Predictors of ACS: distance to school (-) and level of incivilities (+). (3) High levels of neighborhood incivilities were associated with lower levels of perceived safety. | |||||
Salmon (2007), Australia | American Journal of Health Promotion | 720 | 4-13 years | Socio-demographics | (1) Rate of ACS: 41%. |
(2) Predictors of ACS: individual (“child prefer to be driven” (-), “no time in the mornings” (-); social (“worry child will take risks” (-), “no other children to walk with” (-), “no adults to walk with” (-), and environmental barriers (“too far to walk” (-), “no direct route” (-). Positive association: “concern child may be injured in a road accident” and ACS (+). | |||||
Schlossberg (2006), US | Journal of the American Planning Association | 292 | Grades 6-8 | Distance from school on the street network, five measures of perceived urban form: intersection density, dead-end density, route directness, major roads, and railroads, and measures of perceived convenience (e.g., desire to drop a child off on the way to work, backpack is too heavy) | (1) Rates of ACS: 15% to school, 25% from school. |
(2) Predictors of ACS: distance (-), intersection density (-), dead ends (-). | |||||
(3) Reported perceived barriers by frequency: ease of dropping child off on the way to work, the heaviness of the child’s backpack, bad weather, dangerous traffic conditions, high-speed vehicles, lack of complete sidewalks. | |||||
Silva (2011), Brazil | Journal of Physical Activity and Health | 1672 | 11 to 17 years | Socio-demographics, type of school attended, time spent, and perceived barriers. | (1) Rate of ACS: 62.7%. |
(2) Predictors of frequent use of ACS: long distance (-), and traffic (-). | |||||
(3) Predictors of modes of transport: long distance (-), crime (-), and traffic (-). | |||||
Timperio (2006), Australia | American Journal of Preventive Medicine | 912 (235 families of children aged 5 to 6; 677 families of children aged 10 to 12) | Two groups: 5 to 6 years; 10 to 12 years | Personal factors, family factors, SES, parent-perceived social/physical neighborhood, child-perceived social/physical neighborhood, objective measures of route to school | (1) Rates of ACS: 47.8% walked for children aged 5-6, 60.4% walked for those aged 10-12; 6.6% biked for children aged 5-6 and 6.3% for those aged 10-12; Either walked or biked: 48.9% for children aged 5-6 and 62.0% for those aged 10-12. |
(2) No gender difference among younger children; boys cycled more than girls in older children. | |||||
(3) Correlates of ACS: parental perception of few other children around (-) and no lights or crossings (-), and objectively assessed busy road barrier en route to school (-). For younger group, objectively assessed variables (-); older group: good connectivity (-). For both group, route 800 meters (+). | |||||
Trapp (2011), Australia | International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity | 1197 parent-child pairs | Grades 5-7 | Individual, social, perceived environmental, objective environmental factors. | (1) Rates of ACS: 31.2% for boys, and 14.6% for girls. |
(2) Predictors of ACS: school neighborhood design (in boys) (+), parental confidence in their child’s cycling ability (+), parental perceived convenience of driving (+), parental perceptions regarding neighborhood safety issues (i.e., whether the neighborhood is safe enough and the need to cross busy roads ) (-) and child’s preference to cycle (for both boys and girls) (+). | |||||
Van Dyck (2010), Belgium | International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity | 1,281 | 17.1 ± 0.5 years | Socio-demographics, physical environmental perceptions, psychosocial factors | (1) Rates of ACS: 6.6% walked, 51.8% cycled. |
(2) Predictors of ACS: gender (-), smoking status (-), higher walkability of the neighborhood (+) and more social modeling (+). | |||||
Yeung (2008), Australia | Transportation Research Part A | 318 | 8 vs. 10 years | Anthropometric characteristics (self-reported), distance (self-reported), and perceived barriers, including safety issues and physical infrastructure. | (1) Rate of ACS: 1/3. |
(2) Predictors of ACS: commuting distance (-). | |||||
Zhou (2010), US | Journal of Transportation Safety & Security | 347 students, 2551 parents | 75% elementary (Kindergarten-5th grade) | Demographics, and subjective variables (e.g., school attitudes, enjoyment, and health) | (1) Rates of ACS: 8.9% (child reported), 9.5% (parent reported). |
(2). Students living in different distance intervals are subject to different barriers. | |||||
(3) Security and safety remain the primary factors of concern for parents to allow their children to ACS, esp. for those living at short walkable distances | |||||
(4) School, parents’ and students’ attitudes, grade levels, and allowable grade level all had significant impact on the students’ walking/biking rates. | |||||
Zhu (2008), US | Child Health and Human Development | 1281 | Grades 1-5 | Personal factors, social factors, and parents’ perception of the physical environment | (1) Walking was a typical mode for 28% and 34% of trips to and from school, respectively, and mostly accompanied by an adult. |
(2) Correlates of ACS: parental education level (-), car ownership (-), child and parental personal barriers (-), and school bus availability (-), and positive peer influences (+); environmental factors, including proximity to school (+), safety concerns (-) and the presence of highway or freeway en route (-). | |||||
Zhu (2009), US | Journal of Public Health Policy | 2695 | Grades 1-5 | Personal, social, and physical environmental factors. | (1) Walking was a typical mode for 27.8% and 31.5% for the trips to and from school, respectively. |
(2) Correlates of ACS: Personal and social factors, including parental education (-), car ownership (-), personal barriers (-), and school bus availability (-), parental and child positive attitude and regular walking behavior (+), and supportive peer influences (+); Environmental factors, including distance (-), safety concerns (-), presence of highways/freeways(-), convenience stores (-), office buildings (-), and bus stops en route(-). | |||||
Ziviani (2004), Australia | Occupational Therapy International | 164 | Grades 1-7 | Socio-demographics, psychosocial factors, perceived environmental factors, children's level and enjoyment of physical activity, and perceived importance of physical activity | (1) Mean number of days walking to school in a week was 1.00 ± 1.62. |
(2) Predictors of ACS: perceived importance of physical activity, parents’ individual history of transport to school, distance, concern about traffic, and concerns about personal safety. |