Dataset Information

Psychosocial and Environmental Correlates of Walking, Cycling, Public Transport and Passive Transport to Various Destinations in Flemish Older Adolescents.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Active transport is a convenient way to incorporate physical activity in adolescents' daily life. The present study aimed to investigate which psychosocial and environmental factors are associated with walking, cycling, public transport (train, tram, bus, metro) and passive transport (car, motorcycle, moped) over short distances (maximum eight kilometres) among older adolescents (17-18 years), to school and to other destinations. METHODS:562 older adolescents completed an online questionnaire assessing socio-demographic variables, psychosocial variables, environmental variables and transport to school/other destinations. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression models were performed. RESULTS:More social modelling and a higher residential density were positively associated with walking to school and walking to other destinations, respectively. Regarding cycling, higher self-efficacy and a higher social norm were positively associated with cycling to school and to other destinations. Regarding public transport, a higher social norm, more social modelling of siblings and/or friends, more social support and a higher land use mix access were positively related to public transport to school and to other destinations, whereas a greater distance to school only related positively to public transport to school. Regarding passive transport, more social support and more perceived benefits were positively associated with passive transport to school and to other destinations. Perceiving less walking and cycling facilities at school was positively related to passive transport to school only, and more social modelling was positively related to passive transport to other destinations. CONCLUSIONS:Overall, psychosocial variables seemed to be more important than environmental variables across the four transport modes. Social norm, social modelling and social support were the most consistent psychosocial factors which indicates that it is important to target both older adolescents and their social environment in interventions promoting active transport. Walking or cycling together with siblings or friends has the potential to increase social norm, social modelling and social support towards active transport.

SUBMITTER: Verhoeven H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4718705 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Psychosocial and Environmental Correlates of Walking, Cycling, Public Transport and Passive Transport to Various Destinations in Flemish Older Adolescents.

Verhoeven Hannah H Simons Dorien D Van Dyck Delfien D Van Cauwenberg Jelle J Clarys Peter P De Bourdeaudhuij Ilse I de Geus Bas B Vandelanotte Corneel C Deforche Benedicte B

PloS one 20160119 1

<h4>Background</h4>Active transport is a convenient way to incorporate physical activity in adolescents' daily life. The present study aimed to investigate which psychosocial and environmental factors are associated with walking, cycling, public transport (train, tram, bus, metro) and passive transport (car, motorcycle, moped) over short distances (maximum eight kilometres) among older adolescents (17-18 years), to school and to other destinations.<h4>Methods</h4>562 older adolescents completed ...[more]

PMID: 26784933

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Project description:BackgroundThis study aimed to examine potential differences in walking, cycling, public transport and passive transport (car/moped/motorcycle) to work and to other destinations between college and non-college educated working young adults. Secondly, we aimed to investigate which psychosocial and environmental factors are associated with the four transport modes and whether these associations differ between college and non-college educated working young adults.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, 224 working young adults completed an online questionnaire assessing socio-demographic variables (8 items), psychosocial variables (6 items), environmental variables (10 items) and transport mode (4 types) and duration to work/other destinations. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression models were performed in R.ResultsA trend (p<0.10) indicated that more college educated compared to non-college educated young adults participated in cycling and public transport. However, another trend indicated that cycle time and public transport trips were longer and passive transport trips were shorter in non-college compared to college educated working young adults. In all working young adults, high self-efficacy towards active transport, and high perceived benefits and low perceived barriers towards active and public transport were related to more active and public transport. High social support/norm/modeling towards active, public and passive transport was related to more active, public and passive transport. High neighborhood walkability was related to more walking and less passive transport. Only in non-college educated working young adults, feeling safe from traffic and crime in their neighborhood was related to more active and public transport and less passive transport.ConclusionsEducational levels should be taken into account when promoting healthy transport behaviors in working young adults. Among non-college educated working young adults, focus should be on increasing active and public transport participation and on increasing neighborhood safety to increase active and public transport use. Among college educated working young adults, more minutes of active transport should be encouraged.

Project description:IntroductionWalking and cycling bring health and environmental benefits, but there is little robust evidence that changing the built environment promotes these activities in populations. This study evaluated the effects of new transport infrastructure on active commuting and physical activity.Study designQuasi-experimental analysis nested within a cohort study.Setting/participantsFour hundred and sixty-nine adult commuters, recruited through a predominantly workplace-based strategy, who lived within 30 kilometers of Cambridge, United Kingdom and worked in areas of the city to be served by the new transport infrastructure.InterventionThe Cambridgeshire Guided Busway opened in 2011 and comprised a new bus network and a traffic-free walking and cycling route. Exposure to the intervention was defined using the shortest distance from each participant's home to the busway.Main outcome measuresChange in weekly time spent in active commuting between 2009 and 2012, measured by validated 7-day recall instrument. Secondary outcomes were changes in total weekly time spent walking and cycling and in recreational and overall physical activity, measured using the validated Recent Physical Activity Questionnaire. Data were analyzed in 2014.ResultsIn multivariable multinomial regression models--adjusted for potential sociodemographic, geographic, health, and workplace confounders; baseline active commuting; and home or work relocation-exposure to the busway was associated with a significantly greater likelihood of an increase in weekly cycle commuting time (relative risk ratio=1.34, 95% CI=1.03, 1.76) and with an increase in overall time spent in active commuting among the least active commuters at baseline (relative risk ratio=1.76, 95% CI=1.16, 2.67). The study found no evidence of changes in recreational or overall physical activity.ConclusionsProviding new sustainable transport infrastructure was effective in promoting an increase in active commuting. These findings provide new evidence to support reconfiguring transport systems as part of public health improvement strategies.

Project description:IntroductionAssessing the contextual factors that influence walking for transportation is important to develop more walkable environments and promote physical activity. To advance previous research focused on residential environments and overall walking for transportation, the present study investigates objective environmental factors assessed around the residence, the workplace, the home--work itinerary, and the home--supermarket itinerary, and considered overall walking for transportation but also walking to work and to shops.MethodsData from the RECORD Study involving 7290 participants recruited in 2007-2008, aged 30-79 years, and residing in the Paris metropolitan area were analyzed. Multilevel ordinal regression analyses were conducted to investigate environmental characteristics associated with self-reported overall walking for transportation, walking to work, and walking to shops.ResultsHigh individual education was associated with overall walking for transportation, with walking to work, and walking to shops. Among workers, a high residential neighborhood education was associated with increased overall walking for transportation, while a high workplace neighborhood education was related to an increased time spent walking to work. The residential density of destinations was positively associated with overall walking for transportation, with walking to work, and with walking to shops, while the workplace density of destinations was positively associated with overall walking for transportation among workers. Environmental factors assessed around the itineraries were not associated with walking to work or to the shops.ConclusionThis research improves our understanding of the role of the environments on walking for transportation by accounting for some of the environments visited beyond the residential neighborhood. It shows that workers' walking habits are more influenced by the density of destinations around the workplace than around the residence. These results provide insight for the development of policies and programs to encourage population level active commuting.

Project description:Emerging evidence suggests that walking and cycling for different purposes such as transport or recreation may be associated with different attributes of the physical environment. Few studies to date have examined these behaviour-specific associations, particularly in the UK. This paper reports on the development, factor structure and test-retest reliability of a new scale assessing perceptions of the environment in the neighbourhood (PENS) and the associations between perceptions of the environment and walking and cycling for transport and recreation.A new 13-item scale was developed for assessing adults' perceptions of the environment in the neighbourhood (PENS). Three sets of analyses were conducted using data from two sources. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to identify a set of summary environmental variables using data from the iConnect baseline survey (n?=?3494); test-retest reliability of the individual and summary environmental items was established using data collected in a separate reliability study (n?=?166); and multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the associations of the environmental variables with walking for transport, walking for recreation, cycling for transport and cycling for recreation, using iConnect baseline survey data (n?=?2937).Four summary environmental variables (traffic safety, supportive infrastructure, availability of local amenities and social order), one individual environmental item (street connectivity) and a variable encapsulating general environment quality were identified for use in further analyses. Intraclass correlations of these environmental variables ranged from 0.44 to 0.77 and were comparable to those seen in other similar scales. After adjustment for demographic and other environmental factors, walking for transport was associated with supportive infrastructure, availability of local amenities and general environment quality; walking for recreation was associated with supportive infrastructure; and cycling for transport was associated only with street connectivity. There was limited evidence of any associations between environmental attributes and cycling for recreation.PENS is acceptable as a short instrument for assessing perceptions of the urban environment. Previous findings that different attributes of the environment may be associated with different behaviours are confirmed. Policy action to create supportive environments may require a combination of environmental improvements to promote walking and cycling for different purposes.

Project description:PURPOSE:Environmental perceptions and psychological measures appear to be associated with walking and cycling behaviour; however, their influence is still unclear. We assessed these associations using baseline data from a quasi-experimental cohort study of the effects of major transport infrastructural developments in Cambridge, UK. METHODS:Postal surveys were sent to adults who travel to work in Cambridge (n = 1582). Questions asked about travel modes and time spent travelling to and from work in the last week, perceptions of the route, psychological measures regarding car use and socio-demographic characteristics. Participants were classified into one of two categories according to time spent walking for commuting ('no walking' or 'some walking') and one of three categories for cycling ('no cycling', '1-149 min/wk' and ' ? 150 min/wk'). RESULTS:Of the 1164 respondents (68% female, mean (SD) age: 42.3 (11.4) years) 30% reported any walking and 53% reported any cycling to or from work. In multiple regression models, short distance to work and not having access to a car showed strong positive associations with both walking and cycling. Furthermore, those who reported that it was pleasant to walk were more likely to walk to or from work (OR = 4.18, 95% CI 3.02 to 5.78) and those who reported that it was convenient to cycle on the route between home and work were more likely to do so (1-149 min/wk: OR = 4.60, 95% CI 2.88 to 7.34; ? 150 min/wk: OR = 3.14, 95% CI 2.11 to 4.66). Positive attitudes in favour of car use were positively associated with time spent walking to or from work but negatively associated with cycling to or from work. Strong perceived behavioural control for car use was negatively associated with walking. CONCLUSIONS:In this relatively affluent sample of commuters, a range of individual and household characteristics, perceptions of the route environment and psychological measures relating to car use were associated with walking or cycling to and from work. Taken together, these findings suggest that social and physical contexts of travel decision-making should be considered and that a range of influences may require to be addressed to bring about behaviour change.

Project description:INTRODUCTION:Mounting evidence documents the importance of urban form for active travel, but international studies could strengthen the evidence. The aim of the study was to document the strength, shape, and generalizability of relations of objectively measured built environment variables with transport-related walking and cycling. METHODS:This cross-sectional study maximized variation of environments and demographics by including multiple countries and by selecting adult participants living in neighborhoods based on higher and lower classifications of objectively measured walkability and socioeconomic status. Analyses were conducted on 12,181 adults aged 18-66 years, drawn from 14 cities across 10 countries worldwide. Frequency of transport-related walking and cycling over the last seven days was assessed by questionnaire and four objectively measured built environment variables were calculated. Associations of built environment variables with transport-related walking and cycling variables were estimated using generalized additive mixed models, and were tested for curvilinearity and study site moderation. RESULTS:We found positive associations of walking for transport with all the environmental attributes, but also found that the relationships was only linear for land use mix, but not for residential density, intersection density, and the number of parks. Our findings suggest that there may be optimum values in these attributes, beyond which higher densities or number of parks could have minor or even negative impact. Cycling for transport was associated linearly with residential density, intersection density (only for any cycling), and land use mix, but not with the number of parks. CONCLUSION:Across 14 diverse cities and countries, living in more densely populated areas, having a well-connected street network, more diverse land uses, and having more parks were positively associated with transport-related walking and/or cycling. Except for land-use-mix, all built environment variables had curvilinear relationships with walking, with a plateau in the relationship at higher levels of the scales.

Dataset Information

Psychosocial and Environmental Correlates of Walking, Cycling, Public Transport and Passive Transport to Various Destinations in Flemish Older Adolescents.

Publications

Psychosocial and Environmental Correlates of Walking, Cycling, Public Transport and Passive Transport to Various Destinations in Flemish Older Adolescents.

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