Gender-specific social and environmental correlates of active travel to school in four European countries: the HBSC Study

Frontiers in Public Health

Public Health

Adilson Marques¹  Anna Dzielska²  Ellen Haug³  Jaroslava Kopcakova⁴  Joanna Mazur⁵  Jens Bucksch⁶  Catherina Brindley⁶  Teatske Altenburg⁷  Zdenek Hamrik⁸  Yolanda Demetriou⁹  Dorota Kleszczewska^1,10 

[1] CIPER, Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal;Department of Child and Adolescent Health, Institute of Mother and Child, Warsaw, Poland;Department of Health Promotion and Development, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway;Department of Teacher Education, NLA University College, Bergen, Norway;Department of Health Psychology and Research Methodology, Faculty of Medicine, P.J. Safarik University, Košice, Slovakia;Department of Humanization in Medicine and Sexology, University of Zielona Gora, Collegium Medicum, Zielona Góra, Poland;Department of Natural and Sociological Sciences, Heidelberg University of Education, Heidelberg, Germany;Department of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands;Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacky University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czechia;Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria;Institute of Mother and Child Foundation, Warsaw, Poland;

关键词: active transport;    students;    gender;    social correlates;    environmental correlates;    HBSC;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2023.1190045

 received in 2023-03-20, accepted in 2023-07-04,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionDespite the health benefits, a large proportion of girls and boys in Europe do not travel to school actively. A better understanding of the correlates associated with this behavior could guide interventions. This study examines perceived social and environmental correlates of active travel to school (ACTS) from the 2017/18 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey in four European countries, with a special emphasis on gender differences (n = 22,023).MethodsLogistic regression was conducted to analyze associations between the perceived importance of each correlate and ACTS behavior for 11-, 13-, and 15-year-old girls and boys from Germany, Czechia, Poland, and Slovakia. All models were adjusted for age, family affluence, and meeting World Health Organization recommendations for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.ResultsRates of ACTS significantly differed between girls and boys. In Czechia, 65% of girls and boys traveled to school actively, followed by Slovakia (61.4% girls and 58.4% boys), Poland (57.7% girls and 60.2% boys), and Germany (42.6% girls and 48.6% boys). Girls were less likely to actively travel to school compared to boys (odds ratio [OR]: 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.87–0.97). Increasing age (OR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.93–0.97) and a greater distance to school index (OR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.88–0.90) were both negatively associated with ACTS. The perceived importance of living closer to school and of road and neighborhood safety was positively associated with ACTS, with a stronger association in boys than in girls for neighborhood safety. On the contrary, the perceived importance of having people to walk with was negatively associated with ACTS, with a stronger association in girls (OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.65–0.84) than in boys (OR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.66–0.88).DiscussionThis study provides insights into perceived social and environmental correlates associated with ACTS behavior. Future research should include gender-specific perceptions and more in-depth investigations of correlates encouraging ACTS, especially considering social aspects, safety issues, and the structuring of the environment in different cultural settings.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Brindley, Hamrik, Kleszczewska, Dzielska, Mazur, Haug, Kopcakova, Marques, Altenburg, Demetriou and Bucksch.