Open AccessThe effect of siblings and family dog ownership on children's independent mobility to neighbourhood destinations
Author(s) -
Christian Hayley E.,
Villanueva Karen,
Klinker Charlotte D.,
Knuiman Matthew W.,
Divitini Mark,
GilesCorti Billie
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.946
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1753-6405
pISSN - 1326-0200
DOI - 10.1111/1753-6405.12528
Subject(s) - sibling , destinations , neighbourhood (mathematics) , odds , sibling relationship , demography , medicine , psychology , developmental psychology , geography , tourism , logistic regression , sociology , mathematical analysis , mathematics , archaeology
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. Implications : 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.