title: The effect of siblings and family dog ownership on children's independent mobility to neighbourhood destinations.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effect of sibling age, gender and dog ownership on children's independent mobility and how this varies according to the destination visited.
  
  
  METHODS
  Parents reported whether their child had an older sibling; if the child and older sibling were of the same gender; the number of older siblings; if they owned a dog; and whether their child was allowed to independently travel to school, friends' or family house, park/oval/sporting field and local shop. Data were analysed for 181 children aged 8-15 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The strongest significant sibling effect for independently mobility to school, local shop and ≥3 destinations was for having an older sibling of the same gender (p≤0.05). For independent mobility to a friend's house and park, the strongest significant sibling effect was for having one older sibling (p≤0.05). Dog ownership was associated with increased odds of being independently mobile to ≥3 destinations (OR=2.43; 95%CI=1.03-5.74).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parents may be more likely to grant children licence to travel to local places if they are accompanied by an older sibling or the family dog.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Understanding the effects of siblings and dog ownership on children's independent mobility will assist in identifying strategies through which independent mobility can be encouraged.
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Built Environment and Health, The University of Western Australia.|School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia.|Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia.
authors.forename: Hayley E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Christian
authors.affiliation: McCaughey VicHealth Community Wellbeing Unit, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Victoria.|Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital, Victoria.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Villanueva
authors.affiliation: Steno Health Promotion Research, Steno Diabetes Centre, Denmark.
authors.forename: Charlotte D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Klinker
authors.affiliation: School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia.
authors.forename: Matthew W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Knuiman
authors.affiliation: School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Divitini
authors.affiliation: McCaughey VicHealth Community Wellbeing Unit, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Victoria.
authors.forename: Billie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Giles-Corti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010067:Ownership; D016487:Parenting; D057805:Pets; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012449:Safety / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D035781:Siblings; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: child; dog; independent travel; mobility; neighbourhood; sibling