title: The places parents go: understanding the breadth, scope, and experiences of activity spaces for parents.
abstract: Neighborhood environments are related to parenting behaviors, which in turn have a life-long effect on children's health and well-being. Activity spaces, which measure individual routine patterns of movement, may be helpful in assessing how physical and social environments shape parenting. In this study we use qualitative data and GIS mapping from 4 California cities to examine parental activity spaces. Parents described a number of factors that shape their activity spaces including caregiving status, the age of their children, and income. Parental activity spaces also varied between times (weekends vs. weekdays) and places (adult-only vs. child-specific places). Knowing how to best capture and study parental activity spaces could identify mechanisms by which environmental factors influence parenting behaviors and child health.
authors.affiliation: Prevention Research Center, 180 Grand Avenue, Suite 1200, Oakland, CA, 94612.
authors.forename: Jennifer Price
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: Prevention Research Center, 180 Grand Avenue, Suite 1200, Oakland, CA, 94612; UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, 337 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA, 90095.
authors.forename: Bridget
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Freisthler
authors.affiliation: UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, 337 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA, 90095.
authors.forename: Nancy Jo
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Kepple
authors.affiliation: University of California, Berkeley School of Social Welfare, 120 Haviland Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720.
authors.forename: Raúl
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chávez
keywords: GIS; activity spaces; parenting; qualitative research