title: Built environment predictors of active travel to school among rural adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Most studies of active travel to school (ATS) have been conducted in urban or suburban areas and focused on young children. Little is known about ATS among rural adolescents.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe adolescent ATS in two predominantly rural states and determine if school neighborhood built environment characteristics (BECs) predict ATS after adjusting for school and individual characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixteen BECs were assessed through census data and onsite observations of 45 school neighborhoods in 2007. ATS and individual characteristics were assessed through telephone surveys with 1552 adolescents and their parents between 2007 and 2008. Active travelers were defined as those who walked/cycled to/from school ≥1 day/week. Hierarchic linear modeling was used for analysis, conducted in 2009.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Slightly less than half (n=735) of the sample lived within 3 miles of school, of whom 388 (52.8%) were active travelers. ATS frequency varied by season, ranging from a mean of 1.7 (SD=2.0) days/week in the winter to 3.7 (SD=1.6) in the spring. Adolescents who attended schools in highly dense residential neighborhoods with sidewalks were most likely to be active travelers. ATS frequency was greater in school neighborhoods with high residential and intersection densities, on-street parking, food outlets, and taller and continuous buildings with small setbacks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The BECs that support safe travel may be necessary to allow for ATS, whereas ATS frequency among adolescents may be influenced by a wider variety of design characteristics. Additional strategies to promote ATS and physical activity are needed in rural areas because of long commuting distances for many students.
authors.affiliation: Community Health Research Program, Hood Center for Children and Families, Dartmouth Medical School, One Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756-0001, USA. madeline.dalton@dartmouth.edu
authors.forename: Madeline A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Dalton
authors.forename: Meghan R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Longacre
authors.forename: Keith M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Drake
authors.forename: Lucinda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.forename: Anna M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Adachi-Mejia
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Swain
authors.forename: Haiyi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Owens
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001642:Bicycling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012424:Rural Population; D012574:Schools; D012621:Seasons; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014186:Transportation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014707:Vermont; D016138:Walking / Q000706:statistics & numerical data