Assessment of Direct and Indirect Associations Between Children Active School Travel and Environmental, Household and Child Factors Using Structural Equation Modelling

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aut.relation.articlenumber32en_NZ
aut.relation.journalInternational Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activityen_NZ
aut.relation.volume16en_NZ
aut.researcherDrabsch, Julie
dc.contributor.authorIkeda, Een_NZ
dc.contributor.authorHinckson, Een_NZ
dc.contributor.authorWitten, Ken_NZ
dc.contributor.authorSmith, Men_NZ
dc.date.accessioned2019-07-01T02:12:41Z
dc.date.available2019-07-01T02:12:41Z
dc.date.copyright2019en_NZ
dc.date.issued2019en_NZ
dc.description.abstractBackground: Active school travel (AST) is influenced by multiple factors including built and social environments, households and individual variables. A holistic theory such as Mitra’s Behavioural Model of School Transportation (BMST) is vital to comprehensively understand these complex interrelationships. This study aimed to assess direct and indirect associations between children’s AST and environmental, household and child factors based on the BMST using structural equation modelling (SEM). Methods: Data were drawn from Neighbourhoods for Active Kids (NfAK), a cross-sectional study of 1102 children aged 8-13 years (school years 5-8) and their parents from nine intermediate and 10 primary schools in Auckland, New Zealand between February 2015 and December 2016. Data were collected using an online participatory mapping survey (softGIS) with children, a computer-assisted telephone interviewing survey (CATI) with parents, and ArcGIS for built environment attributes. Based on the BMST a conceptual model of children’s school travel behaviour was specified for SEM analyses (‘hypothesised SEM’), and model modification was made to improve the model (‘modified SEM’). SEM analyses using Mplus were performed to test the hypothesised/modified SEM and to assess direct and indirect relationships among variables. Results: The overall fit of the modified SEM was acceptable (N = 542; Root mean square error of approximation = 0.04, Comparative fit index = 0.94, Tucker-Lewis index = 0.92). AST was positively associated with child independent mobility, child-perceived neighbourhood safety, and parent-perceived importance of social interaction and neighbourhood social environment. Distance to school, and parental perceptions of convenience and concerns about traffic safety were negatively associated with AST. Parental fears of stranger danger were indirectly related to AST through those of traffic safety. Distance to school and child independent mobility mediated relationships between AST and child school year and sex. Conclusions: Increasing children’s AST requires action on multiple fronts including communities that support independent mobility by providing child friendly social and built environments, safety from traffic, and policies that promote local schools and safe vehicle-free zones around school.en_NZ
dc.identifier.citationInternational Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 16(1), 32.
dc.identifier.doi10.1186/s12966-019-0794-5en_NZ
dc.identifier.issn1479-5868en_NZ
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10292/12615
dc.publisherBioMed Centralen_NZ
dc.relation.urihttps://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-019-0794-5
dc.rightsThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
dc.rights.accessrightsOpenAccessen_NZ
dc.subjectActive travel; Independent mobility; Safety; Social environment; Built environment; Socio-ecological model
dc.titleAssessment of Direct and Indirect Associations Between Children Active School Travel and Environmental, Household and Child Factors Using Structural Equation Modellingen_NZ
dc.typeJournal Article
pubs.elements-id358337
pubs.organisational-data/AUT
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/Faculty of Business, Economics and Law/NZ Work Research Institute
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/Health & Environmental Science
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/Health & Environmental Science/Sports & Recreation
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/Health & Environmental Science/SPRINZ
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/PBRF
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/PBRF/PBRF Health and Environmental Sciences
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/PBRF/PBRF Health and Environmental Sciences/HS Sports & Recreation 2018 PBRF
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