School of Public Economics and Administration, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai 200433, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Oct 25;19(21):13881. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192113881.
Previous research on the role of school travel in children's well-being (WB) has paid little attention to developing countries. Using national survey data across China, this study examines how children's psychological well-being (PWB) and academic performance differ across commute duration and mode among urban, rural, and urban fringe areas. Our findings show that commute times are significantly negatively associated with children's PWB and academic achievements, and this correlation varies across areas. Children living in the urban fringe have the longest average one-way commuting time (18.6 min), but they have a better acceptance of longer commuting duration, whereas commuting time is more influential in the city center and rural areas. Regarding travel mode, walking to school is positively associated with PWB in the center area, while bicycles and public transport positively affect the rural student scores. Results from quantile regression show that students on the lower quantiles of the conditional distribution of PWB tend to suffer more than the others when commuting time increases; students with middle scores respond similarly to marginal changes in commuting time. Recommendations for urban planners and policymakers to enhance child WB include fostering school-home balance, improving public transit services, and investing in pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure for those vulnerable groups.
先前有关学校交通在儿童福祉（WB）方面的作用的研究，对发展中国家关注甚少。本研究使用了中国全国性的调查数据，考察了城市、农村和城乡边缘地区的通勤时间和模式如何影响儿童的心理福祉（PWB）和学业成绩。研究结果表明，通勤时间与儿童的 PWB 和学业成绩呈显著负相关，而且这种相关性在不同地区有所不同。居住在城乡边缘地区的儿童平均单程通勤时间最长（18.6 分钟），但他们对较长的通勤时间有更好的接受度，而在市中心和农村地区，通勤时间的影响更大。至于交通方式，步行上学与中心区的 PWB 呈正相关，而自行车和公共交通对农村学生的成绩有积极影响。分位数回归的结果表明，在 PWB 的条件分布的较低分位数上的学生，随着通勤时间的增加，他们遭受的影响比其他人更大；而处于中间分数的学生对通勤时间的边际变化的反应则相似。为了提高儿童的 WB，城市规划者和政策制定者应提出建议，包括促进家校平衡、改善公共交通服务以及为弱势群体投资行人及自行车基础设施。
