Determinants of children's independent mobility in Hong Kong

This study examines children's independent mobility (CIM) among primary school students during their home-school journeys in Hong Kong. It represents an empirical study to assess the impact of individual, family and environmental determinants in influencing the level of CIM. Using territory-wide travel diary data from the Travel Characteristic Survey 2002 (TCS02), logistic regression modeling is used to understand the key factors associated with an increased level of CIM among children in the city. The present study found that approximately one-third of school journeys were conducted by children on their own. CIM was highly associated with the distance to school, the age group of children, median household income, family structure, working status of mothers, employment of domestic helper, neighborhood settlement types and density of school places. These findings can provide input to strategies for promoting an increased level of CIM to improve children's well-being. Language: en

[1]  Alfred Lam,et al.  TRAVEL CHARACTERISTICS SURVEY—METHOD OF EXPANDING HOUSEHOLD INTERVIEW SURVEY DATA , 2005 .

[2]  Paul Tranter,et al.  Children's Access to Local Environments: A case-study of Christchurch, New Zealand , 2001 .

[3]  J. Gershuny.  Post-industrial convergence in time allocation☆ , 1993 .

[4]  Hsiao-Te Chang,et al.  Built Environment Effects on Children’s School Travel in Taipai: Independence and Travel Mode , 2010 .

[5]  V. Wong,et al.  Functional Independence Measure (WeeFIM) for Chinese children: Hong Kong Cohort. , 2002, Pediatrics.

[6]  Gill Valentine,et al.  'My Son's a Bit Dizzy.' 'My Wife's a Bit Soft': Gender, children and cultures of parenting , 1997 .

[7]  Marketta Kyttä,et al.  Children's independent mobility in urban, small town, and rural environments , 1997 .

[8]  Becky P.Y. Loo,et al.  Spatial Restructuring to Facilitate Shorter Commuting , 2011 .

[9]  S. Gibbons,et al.  Urban Density and Pupil Attainment , 2007 .

[10]  J. Owens,et al.  Sleep Patterns and Sleep Problems Among Schoolchildren in the United States and China , 2005, Pediatrics.

[11]  I. Kinoshita,et al.  Danger from Traffic to Fear of Monkeys: Children's Independent Mobility in Four Diverse Sites in Japan , 2011 .

[12]  Karen Malone.  Changing Global Childhoods: The Impact on Children's Independent Mobility , 2011 .

[13]  A. Lai,et al.  Maternal Child-rearing Practices in Hong Kong and Beijing Chinese Families: A Comparative Study , 2000 .

[14]  Deborah J Jones,et al.  Children's Independent Spatial Mobility in the Urban Public Realm , 2000 .

[15]  R. Mackett,et al.  The therapeutic value of children's everyday travel , 2005 .

[16]  Becky P.Y. Loo,et al.  Does neighbourhood count in affecting children's journeys to schools? , 2015 .

[17]  Kiros Berhane,et al.  Childhood Incident Asthma and Traffic-Related Air Pollution at Home and School , 2010, Environmental health perspectives.

[18]  Noreen C. McDonald,et al.  Exploratory Analysis of Children's Travel Patterns , 2006 .

[19]  P. Tucker,et al.  The physical activity levels of preschool-aged children: A systematic review , 2008 .

[20]  P. Björklid,et al.  Children's independent mobility in Sweden , 2013 .

[21]  C. O'Hagan.  Parenting Out of Control: Anxious Parents in Uncertain Times , 2011 .

[22]  Becky P.Y. Loo,et al.  A multilevel investigation of differential individual mobility of working couples with children: a case study of Hong Kong , 2013 .

[23]  Maria Vittoria Giuliani,et al.  The influence of psychosocial and environmental factors on children's independent mobility and relationship to peer frequentation , 2001 .

[24]  D. Ho.  Chinese patterns of socialization: A critical review. , 1986 .

[25]  Yusak O. Susilo,et al.  A long term analysis of the mechanisms underlying children’s activity-travel engagements in the Osaka metropolitan area , 2012 .

[26]  W. Lee,et al.  Gender Ideology and the Domestic Division of Labor in Middle-class Chinese Families in Hong Kong , 2002 .

[27]  A. Cooper,et al.  International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Independent Mobility in Relation to Weekday and Weekend Physical Activity in Children Aged 10–11 Years: the Peach Project , 2022 .

[28]  C. DiGuiseppi,et al.  Determinants of car travel on daily journeys to school: cross sectional survey of primary school children , 1998, BMJ.

[29]  A. Timperio,et al.  Young and free? A study of independent mobility among urban and rural dwelling Australian children. , 2012, Journal of science and medicine in sport.

[30]  Marketta Kyttä,et al.  Physical environmental characteristics promoting independent and active transport to children's meaningful places , 2013 .

[31]  Mayer Hillman,et al.  One False Move...: A Study of Children's Independent Mobility , 1991 .

[32]  K. Blakely,et al.  Parents' Conceptions of Social Dangers to Children in the Urban Environment. , 1994 .

[33]  Becky P.Y. Loo,et al.  Changing Urban Form in Hong Kong: What Are the Challenges on Sustainable Transportation? , 2008 .

[34]  C. Spencer,et al.  Children and the city: a summary of recent environmental psychology research. , 2000, Child: care, health and development.

[35]  V. Fu,et al.  A comparison of child-rearing practices among Chinese, immigrant Chinese, and Caucasian-American parents. , 1990 .

[36]  C. Black,et al.  Encouraging Walking: The Case of Journey-to-school Trips in Compact Urban Areas , 2001 .