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Parents’ Willingness and Perception of Children’s Autonomy as Predictors of Greater Independent Mobility to School

Author

Listed:
  • Ester Ayllón

    (Faculty of Human Sciences and Education, Department of Psychology and Sociology, University of Zaragoza, Valentín Carderera, 4, 22003 Huesca, Spain)

  • Nieves Moyano

    (Faculty of Human Sciences and Education, Department of Psychology and Sociology, University of Zaragoza, Valentín Carderera, 4, 22003 Huesca, Spain)

  • Azucena Lozano

    (Faculty of Human Sciences and Education, Department of Mathematics, University of Zaragoza, Valentín Carderera, 4, 22003 Huesca, Spain)

  • María-Jesús Cava

    (Faculty of Psychology, Department of Social Psychology, University of Valencia, Avda. Blasco Ibáñez, 21, 46010 Valencia, Spain)

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the factors associated with different forms of independent mobility (IM) to school (IM one way and IM both ways) according to their parents’ opinions. To do so, several variables were evaluated: how parents assess their children’s autonomy, the difficulty they perceive for IM to school, reasons for IM/no IM to school, parents’ willingness for IM to school, frequency of children’s IM for leisure activities, children having house keys and dangers perceived in the neighborhood. Family-related socio-demographic variables were also assessed: number of children, position occupied by them in the family, family composition, living with both parents or just one, and each parent’s nationality, level of education and job status. This study examined the data collected from 1450 parents (mothers and fathers) with children studying Primary Education years 4, 5 and 6 ( M age = 10.53, SD = 0.90). The results showed that 42.3% of the schoolchildren did not practice IM to school, 18.1% practiced IM one way (they went to or from school alone), and 39.5% practiced IM both way (they went to/from school alone). These findings underline the importance of parents’ willingness for IM to school, and how the balance between how they perceive their children’s autonomy and difficulty for IM is relevant for greater IM to school.

Suggested Citation

  • Ester Ayllón & Nieves Moyano & Azucena Lozano & María-Jesús Cava, 2019. "Parents’ Willingness and Perception of Children’s Autonomy as Predictors of Greater Independent Mobility to School," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-14, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:5:p:732-:d:209915
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    7. Isabel Marzi & Anne Kerstin Reimers, 2018. "Children’s Independent Mobility: Current Knowledge, Future Directions, and Public Health Implications," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-15, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nematullah Hayba & Yumeng Shi & Margaret Allman-Farinelli, 2021. "Enabling Better Physical Activity and Screen Time Behaviours for Adolescents from Middle Eastern Backgrounds: Semi-Structured Interviews with Parents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-20, December.
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    3. Lingyi Qiu & Xuemei Zhu, 2021. "Housing and Community Environments vs. Independent Mobility: Roles in Promoting Children’s Independent Travel and Unsupervised Outdoor Play," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-17, February.

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