title: Parental perceptions of barriers to active commuting to school in Spanish children and adolescents.
abstract: : Understanding parental barriers is crucial to promote active commuting to school since the parental perceptions influence how young people commute. This study examined parental barriers to active commuting to school among Spanish children and adolescents, and their association with their gender and the usual mode of commuting. Parents of children ( n = 628) and parents of adolescents ( n = 151) from Granada (Spain) completed a paper-based questionnaire about perceived parental barriers to active commuting to school and mode of commuting. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square test. Among Spanish parents, the most common barriers reported by parents of children were traffic volume and dangerous intersections, whereas the most frequent barriers reported by parents of adolescents were distance to school and dangerous intersections. Compared to parents of children, a greater proportion of parents of adolescents reported distance to school and crime and smaller proportion reported traffic volume as barriers to active commuting to school. Among parents of children, crime was a more commonly reported as a barrier by parents of girls. Although some barriers reported by parents of passive commuters were similar for children and adolescents (such as distance to school and absence of a policeman at crosswalks), other barriers were specific to parents of children. The main parental barriers to active commuting in children were traffic volume and dangerous intersections whereas for adolescents were distance and dangerous intersections. Among Spanish parents, parental barriers to active commuting are influenced by children's age, gender and mode of commuting to school.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Magisterio La Inmaculada, Universidad de Granada, Granada, España.
authors.forename: Francisco Javier
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Huertas-Delgado
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Educación Física y Deportiva, Facultad de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte, Universidad de Granada, Granada, España.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Herrador-Colmenero
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias de la Educación, Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación. Universidad de Almería.
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Villa-González
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Educación Física y Deportiva, Facultad de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte, Universidad de Granada, Granada, España.
authors.forename: María Jesús
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Aranda-Balboa
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Educación Física y Deportiva, Facultad de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte, Universidad de Granada, Granada, España.
authors.forename: María Victoria
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Cáceres
authors.affiliation: School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mandic
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Educación Física y Deportiva, Facultad de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte, Universidad de Granada, Granada, España.
authors.forename: Palma
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chillón
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012449:Safety; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014186:Transportation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016138:Walking