title: Does community type moderate the relationship between parent perceptions of the neighborhood and physical activity in children?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether residing in a community designed to promote physical activity moderates the relationship between parent perceptions of the neighborhood and general physical activity or active commuting to school in their children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional.
  
  
  METHODS
  San Bernardino County, California.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred sixty-five families (one parent and one child in grades four through eight). Eighty-five reside in a smart growth community designed to be more conducive to physical activity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Parent perceptions assessed using the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS). General child physical activity was measured using accelerometers, and active commuting was self-reported by children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two sets of regressions were performed: one for general physical activity, and one for active commuting. Separate models were run in the two sets for each of the 14 NEWS factors, while controlling for demographics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For general physical activity, walking infrastructure, lack of cul-de-sacs, and social interaction had significant main effect associations (p ≤ .05). No factors were moderated by community. The relationships between active commuting to school and perceived crime, traffic hazards, hilliness, physical barriers, cul-de-sac connectivity, aesthetics, and walking infrastructure were significant for those in the smart growth community only (p ≤ .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Living in an activity-friendly environment is associated with positive relationships between parent perceptions and active commuting behaviors in children. Future interventions should account for both the perceived neighborhood environment and available physical activity infrastructure.
authors: Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Alhambra, CA 91803, USA. durandca@usc.edu
authors: Casey P
authors: CP
authors: Durand
authors: Genevieve F
authors: GF
authors: Dunton
authors: Donna
authors: D
authors: Spruijt-Metz
authors: Mary Ann
authors: MA
authors: Pentz
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010465:Perception; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057566:Self Report; D012931:Social Environment; D040241:Social Marketing; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*