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Children who commute to school unaccompanied have greater autonomy and perceptions of safety
Author(s) -
HerradorColmenero Manuel,
VillaGonzález Emilio,
Chillón Palma
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.14047
Subject(s) - medicine , perception , autonomy , cross sectional study , family medicine , gerontology , psychology , pathology , neuroscience , political science , law
Abstract Aim We explored the rates of children who actively commuted to school, both accompanied and unaccompanied, and identified their safety perceptions. Methods This cross‐sectional study focused on 745 children, aged 6‐12 years, from public schools in the Spanish Granada region. They completed a questionnaire, providing personal data, their school grade, safety perceptions, whether they were accompanied to school and how they travelled to school. We analysed how active commuters were accompanied to school by age group and assessed the associations between safety perceptions and whether or not they were accompanied. Results Children aged 10‐12 years were more likely to travel to school unaccompanied, more likely to travel actively and had better safety perceptions than younger children. We also found differences in how active commuters between 10 and 12 years and children aged 6‐7 and 8‐9 years (all p < 0.001) were accompanied to school. Children aged 10‐12 years who actively commuted unaccompanied had a better understanding of safety issues than accompanied children (p < 0.010). Conclusion Older children who actively commuted to school unaccompanied had better safety perceptions than other children in this sample of children aged 6‐12.