Department Tranzo, Scientific Center for Care and Welfare, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2012 Aug 17;9:98. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-9-98.
Although environmental characteristics as perceived by parents are known to be related to children's outdoor play behavior, less is known about the relation between independently measured neighborhood characteristics and outdoor play among children. The purpose of this study was to identify quantitative as well as qualitative neighborhood characteristics related to outdoor play by means of neighborhood observations.
Questionnaires including questions on outdoor play behavior of the child were distributed among 3,651 parents of primary school children (aged 4-12 years). Furthermore, neighborhood observations were conducted in 33 Dutch neighborhoods to map neighborhood characteristics such as buildings, formal outdoor play facilities, public space, street pattern, traffic safety, social neighborhood characteristics, and general impression. Data of the questionnaires and the neighborhood observations were coupled via postal code of the respondents. Multilevel GEE analyses were performed to quantify the correlation between outdoor play and independently measured neighborhood characteristics.
Parental education was negatively associated with outdoor play among children. Neither the presence nor the overall quality of formal outdoor play facilities were (positively) related to outdoor play among children in this study. Rather, informal play areas such as the presence of sidewalks were related to children's outdoor play. Also, traffic safety was an important characteristic associated with outdoor play.
This study showed that, apart from individual factors such as parental education level, certain modifiable characteristics in the neighborhood environment (as measured by neighborhood observations) were associated with outdoor play among boys and girls of different age groups in The Netherlands. Local policy makers from different sectors can use these research findings in creating more activity-friendly neighborhoods for children.
尽管父母感知到的环境特征与儿童的户外游戏行为有关，但对于独立测量的邻里特征与儿童户外游戏之间的关系，了解较少。本研究的目的是通过邻里观察，确定与户外游戏相关的定量和定性邻里特征。
向 3651 名小学生（4-12 岁）的家长发放了包括儿童户外游戏行为问题的问卷。此外，在 33 个荷兰街区进行了邻里观察，以绘制邻里特征，如建筑物、正规户外游乐设施、公共空间、街道模式、交通安全、社会邻里特征和总体印象。问卷和邻里观察的数据通过受访者的邮政编码进行关联。使用多水平 GEE 分析来量化户外游戏与独立测量的邻里特征之间的相关性。
父母的教育程度与儿童的户外游戏呈负相关。在本研究中，正规户外游乐设施的存在与否及其整体质量均与儿童的户外游戏无关。相反，非正式的游戏区域，如人行道的存在，与儿童的户外游戏有关。此外，交通安全是与户外游戏相关的一个重要特征。
本研究表明，除了父母教育水平等个体因素外，邻里环境中的某些可修改特征（通过邻里观察测量）与荷兰不同年龄组男孩和女孩的户外游戏有关。来自不同部门的当地政策制定者可以利用这些研究结果来为儿童创造更适合活动的邻里环境。
