Differences in parental perceptions of walking and cycling to high school according to distance |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Active Living Laboratory, School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Science, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand;2. Centre for Sustainability, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand;3. Transport Study Unit, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, United Kingdom;4. Health Research Institute, Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland;5. Dunedin City Council, PO Box 5045, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand;6. Department of Medicine, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand;7. School of Surveying, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand;8. Department of Marketing, School of Business, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand;9. Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, 3-100 University Hall, Van Vliet Complex, Edmonton T6G 2H9, Alberta, Canada |
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| Abstract: | BackgroundParental perceptions towards different modes of transport correlate with adolescents’ mode choice for school trips. Whether parental attitudes differ for walking versus cycling and/or home-to-school distance is unknown. We compared parental perceptions of walking versus cycling to school in adolescents in Dunedin, New Zealand and examined whether mode-specific barriers differ by distance to school.MethodsParents (n = 341; age: 47.5 ± 5.2 years; 77.1% females) completed a survey about their adolescent’s (age: 13–18 years; 48.1% boys) school travel and their own perceptions of walking/cycling to school. Participants were categorised into three groups according to distance to school as ‘walkable’ (≤2.25 km), ‘cyclable’ (>2.25–≤4.0 km) and ‘beyond cyclable’ (>4.0 km).ResultsCommon modes of transport to school differed significantly across the ‘walkable’/’cyclable’/’beyond cyclable’ categories (car passenger: 25.7%/40.5%/60.6%; public/school bus: 5.5%/15.4%/28.4%; walking: 66.2%/28.2%/1.2%; cycling: 0.0%/7.7%/0.5%; all p < 0.001). Compared to walking, parents perceived cycling to school to be less important (walking/cycling: 87.5%/62.5%), with less social support from parents (46.2%/17.1%), peers (20.6%/4.8%) and school (24.5%/12.4%), less interest from adolescents (48.5%/31.9%), fewer cycle paths (26.5%) versus footpaths (65.0%) and more safety concerns (35.0%/64.6%; all p < 0.001). As distance to school increased, parents’ social support decreased whereas personal, environmental and safety-related barriers increased for both modes, with less consistent findings for cycling. Overall, 68.2% of parents expected to participate in adolescents’ walking/cycling to school decision-making.ConclusionsParents favoured walking compared to cycling to school with parental attitudes for both modes changing with increasing distance to school. The findings illustrate the importance of addressing parental concerns, considering the specificity of walking and cycling and taking into account distance to school in active transport to school initiatives. |
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| Keywords: | Active transport Walking Cycling School Parents Adolescents |
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