IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i4p2118-d503580.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

12-Year Trends in Active School Transport across Four European Countries—Findings from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) Study

Author

Listed:
  • Ellen Haug

    (Department of Health Promotion and Development, University of Bergen, 5020 Bergen, Norway
    Department of Teacher Education, NLA University College, 5012 Bergen, Norway)

  • Otto Robert Frans Smith

    (Department of Health Promotion, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 5015 Bergen, Norway)

  • Jens Bucksch

    (Department of Prevention and Health Promotion, Faculty of Natural and Human Sciences, Heidelberg University of Education, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany)

  • Catherina Brindley

    (Department of Prevention and Health Promotion, Faculty of Natural and Human Sciences, Heidelberg University of Education, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany)

  • Jan Pavelka

    (Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc, 77111 Olomouc, Czech Republic)

  • Zdenek Hamrik

    (Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc, 77111 Olomouc, Czech Republic)

  • Joanna Inchley

    (MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G37 HR, UK)

  • Chris Roberts

    (Social Research and Information Devision, Welsh Government, Cardiff CF10 3NQ, UK)

  • Frida Kathrine Sofie Mathisen

    (Department of Health Promotion and Development, University of Bergen, 5020 Bergen, Norway)

  • Dagmar Sigmundová

    (Institute of Active Lifestyle, Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc, 77111 Olomouc, Czech Republic)

Abstract

Active school transport (AST) is a source of daily physical activity uptake. However, AST seems to have decreased worldwide over recent decades. We aimed to examine recent trends in AST and associations with gender, age, family affluence, and time to school, using data from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study collected in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 in the Czech Republic, Norway, Scotland, and Wales. Data from 88,212 students (11, 13 and 15 years old) revealed stable patterns of AST from 2006 to 2018, apart from a decrease in the Czech Republic between 2006 and 2010. For survey waves combined, walking to and from school was most common in the Czech Republic (55%) and least common in Wales (30%). Cycling was only common in Norway (22%). AST differed by gender (Scotland and Wales), by age (Norway), and by family affluence (everywhere but Norway). In the Czech Republic, family affluence was associated with change over time in AST, and the effect of travel time on AST was stronger. The findings indicate that the decrease in AST could be levelling off in the countries considered here. Differential associations with sociodemographic factors and travel time should be considered in the development of strategies for AST.

Suggested Citation

  • Ellen Haug & Otto Robert Frans Smith & Jens Bucksch & Catherina Brindley & Jan Pavelka & Zdenek Hamrik & Joanna Inchley & Chris Roberts & Frida Kathrine Sofie Mathisen & Dagmar Sigmundová, 2021. "12-Year Trends in Active School Transport across Four European Countries—Findings from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-15, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:4:p:2118-:d:503580
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/2118/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/2118/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Duarte Henriques-Neto & Miguel Peralta & Susana Garradas & Andreia Pelegrini & André Araújo Pinto & Pedro António Sánchez-Miguel & Adilson Marques, 2020. "Active Commuting and Physical Fitness: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-15, April.
    2. William Boyce & Torbjorn Torsheim & Candace Currie & Alessio Zambon, 2006. "The Family Affluence Scale as a Measure of National Wealth: Validation of an Adolescent Self-Report Measure," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 78(3), pages 473-487, September.
    3. João Costa & Manolis Adamakis & Wesley O’Brien & João Martins, 2020. "A Scoping Review of Children and Adolescents’ Active Travel in Ireland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-19, March.
    4. Fyhri, Aslak & Hjorthol, Randi & Mackett, Roger L. & Fotel, Trine Nordgaard & Kyttä, Marketta, 2011. "Children's active travel and independent mobility in four countries: Development, social contributing trends and measures," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 703-710, September.
    5. Westman, Jessica & Johansson, Maria & Olsson, Lars E. & Mårtensson, Fredrika & Friman, Margareta, 2013. "Children’s affective experience of every-day travel," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 95-102.
    6. Ronan Doorley & Vikram Pakrashi & Bidisha Ghosh, 2015. "Quantifying the Health Impacts of Active Travel: Assessment of Methodologies," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(5), pages 559-582, September.
    7. Kate Levin & Torbjorn Torsheim & Wilma Vollebergh & Matthias Richter & Carolyn Davies & Christina Schnohr & Pernille Due & Candace Currie, 2011. "National Income and Income Inequality, Family Affluence and Life Satisfaction Among 13 year Old Boys and Girls: A Multilevel Study in 35 Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 104(2), pages 179-194, November.
    8. Mohammad Lutfur Rahman & Tessa Pocock & Antoni Moore & Sandra Mandic, 2020. "Active Transport to School and School Neighbourhood Built Environment across Urbanisation Settings in Otago, New Zealand," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-15, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gu, Tianqi & Xu, Weiping & Liang, Hua & He, Qing & Zheng, Nan, 2024. "School bus transport service strategies’ policy-making mechanism – An evolutionary game approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    2. Marzi, Isabel & Beck, Franziska & Engels, Eliane & Renninger, Denise & Demetriou, Yolanda & Reimers, Anne K., 2023. "Adolescents' travel behavior in Germany: Investigating transport mode choice considering destination, travel distance, and urbanization," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    3. Joana Lage & Ana d’Espiney & Nuno Canha & Vítor Manteigas & José Luís Alexandre & Karla Gonçalves & Ricardo Chacartegui & Jesus Lizana & Yolanda Lechón & Ana Rosa Gamarra & Amaia Fernandez & Patrice B, 2022. "Mobility Patterns of Scholar Communities in Southwestern European Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-18, December.
    4. Ana Rodrigues & Hélio Antunes & Ricardo Alves & Ana Luísa Correia & Helder Lopes & Bebiana Sabino & Adilson Marques & Andreas Ihle & Élvio Rúbio Gouveia, 2022. "Association between the Duration of the Active Commuting to and from School, and Cognitive Performance in Urban Portuguese Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-10, November.
    5. Sharon Levi & Orna Baron-Epel & Riki Tesler & Yossi Harel-Fisch, 2022. "Patterns of Active Travel and Physical Activity among Adolescents in Israel," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-14, October.
    6. Andrew F. Clark & Melissa Thomas & Adrian Buttazzoni & Matthew Adams & Stephanie E. Coen & Jamie Seabrook & Danielle Tobin & Trish Tucker & Jason Gilliland, 2023. "Validating the Perceived Active School Travel Enablers and Barriers–Parent (PASTEB–P) Questionnaire to Support Intervention Programming and Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-23, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hill, Chris & Young, Marcus & Blainey, Simon & Cavazzi, Stefano & Emberson, Chris & Sadler, Jason, 2024. "An integrated geospatial data model for active travel infrastructure," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    2. Hudson, Eibhlin, 2013. "Does relative material wealth matter for child and adolescent life satisfaction?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 38-47.
    3. Patricia Gálvez-Fernández & Palma Chillón & María Jesús Aranda-Balboa & Manuel Herrador-Colmenero, 2022. "Preliminary Results of a Bicycle Training Course on Adults’ Environmental Perceptions and Their Mode of Commuting," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-12, March.
    4. Apolinaras Zaborskis & Monika Grincaite & Michela Lenzi & Riki Tesler & Concepción Moreno-Maldonado & Joanna Mazur, 2019. "Social Inequality in Adolescent Life Satisfaction: Comparison of Measure Approaches and Correlation with Macro-level Indices in 41 Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 1055-1079, February.
    5. Nuno Loureiro & Vânia Loureiro & Alberto Grao-Cruces & João Martins & Margarida Gaspar de Matos, 2022. "Correlates of Active Commuting to School among Portuguese Adolescents: An Ecological Model Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-10, February.
    6. Ximena Palma-Leal & Fernando Rodríguez-Rodríguez & Pablo Campos-Garzón & Antonio Castillo-Paredes & Palma Chillón, 2021. "New Self-Report Measures of Commuting Behaviors to University and Their Association with Sociodemographic Characteristics," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-14, November.
    7. Gross-Manos, Daphna, 2017. "Material well-being and social exclusion association with children's subjective Well-being: Cross-national analysis of 14 countries," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 116-128.
    8. Elias, Wafa & Katoshevski-Cavari, Rachel, 2014. "The role of socio-economic and environmental characteristics in school-commuting behavior: A comparative study of Jewish and Arab children in Israel," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 79-87.
    9. Mia Hakovirta & Johanna Kallio, 2016. "Children’s Perceptions of Poverty," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 9(2), pages 317-334, June.
    10. Jaroslava Kopcakova & Zuzana Dankulincova Veselska & Andrea Madarasova Geckova & Daniel Klein & Jitse P. Dijk & Sijmen A. Reijneveld, 2018. "Are school factors and urbanization supportive for being physically active and engaging in less screen-based activities?," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 63(3), pages 359-366, April.
    11. Heidi Carlerby & Eija Viitasara & Anders Knutsson & Katja Gillander Gådin, 2011. "Subjective health complaints among boys and girls in the Swedish HBSC study: focussing on parental foreign background," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 56(5), pages 457-464, October.
    12. Brock Boudreau & Christiane Poulin, 2009. "An examination of the validity of the Family Affluence Scale II (FAS II) in a general adolescent population of Canada," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 94(1), pages 29-42, October.
    13. Richard A. Burns, 2019. "The Utility of Between-Nation Subjective Wellbeing Comparisons Amongst Nations Within the European Social Survey," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 683-705, March.
    14. Jaroslava Voráčová & Erik Sigmund & Dagmar Sigmundová & Michal Kalman, 2016. "Family Affluence and the Eating Habits of 11- to 15-Year-Old Czech Adolescents: HBSC 2002 and 2014," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-11, October.
    15. Corominas, Mari & González-Carrasco, Mònica & Casas, Ferran, 2021. "Analyzing factors for an optimum play environment through children’s subjective well-being indicators," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    16. 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.
    17. Elgar, Frank J. & De Clercq, Bart & Schnohr, Christina W. & Bird, Phillippa & Pickett, Kate E. & Torsheim, Torbjørn & Hofmann, Felix & Currie, Candace, 2013. "Absolute and relative family affluence and psychosomatic symptoms in adolescents," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 25-31.
    18. Yekaterina Chzhen & Irene Moor & William Pickett & Emilia Toczydlowska & Gonneke Stevens & UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2016. "Family Affluence and Inequality in Adolescent Health and Life Satisfaction: Evidence from the HBSC study 2002-2014," Papers inwopa836, Innocenti Working Papers.
    19. Hamid Mostofi & Houshmand Masoumi & Hans-Liudger Dienel, 2020. "The Association between the Regular Use of ICT Based Mobility Services and the Bicycle Mode Choice in Tehran and Cairo," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-19, November.
    20. Kelly, J. Andrew & Fu, Miao, 2014. "Sustainable school commuting – understanding choices and identifying opportunities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 221-230.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:4:p:2118-:d:503580. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.