Neighborhood and developmental differences in children's perceptions of opportunities for play and physical activity

doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2007.03.002

Health & Place

Volume 14, Issue 1, March 2008, Pages 2-14

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2007.03.002 Get rights and content

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to examine perceptions of places to play and be physically active among children from two different urban neighborhoods, and evaluate these perceptions for age-related developmental differences. One hundred and sixty-eight children from grades K-6 (aged 6–12 years old) completed mental maps depicting places where they could play and be physically active. The children were recruited from schools in two neighborhoods—one a high-walkability (H-W) grid-style neighborhood, the other a low-walkability (L-W) lollipop-style (i.e., cul-de-sacs) neighborhood. Analysis revealed that children in the H-W neighborhood depicted more active transportation and less non-active transportation than children in the L-W neighborhood. Children in the lowest grades (K-2) in the L-W neighborhood depicted more play in the home/yard environment than the oldest children, more good weather image events than children in Grades 3–6, and less play outside the home/yard environment than children in Grades 3 and 4. In the H-W neighborhood, the youngest children (K-2) depicted significantly less play in the home/yard environment and less play outside the home/yard environment than older children (Grades 3–6). Thus, both the type of urban neighborhood and children's age moderated perceptions of places to play and be physically active.

Section snippets

Developmental ecological perspective

One increasingly popular approach to understanding the influence of the environment on physical activity has been to use various types of ecological models (Davidson and Birch, 2001; Garcia Bengoechea and Johnson, 2000; Spence and Lee, 2003). These models represent adaptations of Bronfenbrenner, 1977, City of Edmonton, 2005; Bronfenbrenner and Morris, 1998). Within this theory it is hypothesized that social systems are ecological influences that play a significant role in children's

Neighborhoods

Children were recruited from two different elementary schools located in two neighborhoods in the city of Edmonton, Alta., Canada. One school was located in an older grid-style neighborhood (see Fig. 1). The other school was located in a newer lollipop-style neighborhood (see Fig. 2). To determine if a difference in walkability existed between the two neighborhoods, we calculated an index of walkability (Frank et al., 2006) for all neighborhoods in Edmonton. Specifically, with the aid of Arc

Thematic analysis

Images drawn to describe places in their neighborhoods where children could play and be physically active were coded into eight themes which are described below:

Play in home/yard: This theme reflected images relating to the child's home or yard. It included images that depicted general structural features of the immediate home environment (i.e., My house, My yard, Fence, Friend's house, Neighbor's house); images of children playing with objects in back or front yards (i.e., Playhouse,

Discussion

The first objective of this study was to compare the mental representations of places to play and be physically active in the neighborhood among children from an H-W and an L-W neighborhood. We observed differences with regard to active/non-active transportation. Travel between destinations is a central concept in Krizek et al.'s (2004) schematic of community design and youth physical activity. That is, they decomposed their model into time spent in travel and time spent in destinations.

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Neighborhood and developmental differences in children's perceptions of opportunities for play and physical activity

Abstract

Section snippets

Developmental ecological perspective

Neighborhoods

Thematic analysis

Discussion

American Journal of Preventive Medicine

Journal of Environmental Psychology

Geoforum

Personality and Individual Differences

Journal of Environmental Psychology

American Journal of Preventative Medicine

Landscape and Urban Planning

Psychology of Sports and Exercise

Public Health

Preventive Medicine

Health & Place

Children's use of the street as a playground in Abu-Nureir

Jordan. Environment and Behavior

A cross-cultural study of young children's mapping abilities

Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers

Mapping as a cultural and cognitive universe

Annals of the Association of American Geographers

Toward an experimental psychology of human development

American Psychologist

After the Death of Childhood: Growing up in the Age of Electronic Media

Is there a place for children in the city?

Journal of Urban Design

Increasing Physical Activity: Supporting Children's Participation

The Guest Editorial: from research on children to research with children

Neonatal Paediatric and Child Health Nursing

Multiple methods in qualitative research with children: more insight or just more

Qualitative Research

Childhood overweight: a contextual model and recommendations for future research

Obesity Reviews

Perceived environment and physical activity: a meta-analysis of selected environmental characteristics

International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity