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Relations of Neighborhood Environment Influences, Physical Activity, and Active Transportation to/from School across African American, Latino American, and White Girls in the United States

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Abstract

Background

Neighborhood environment influences may be particularly important for understanding physical activity (PA) patterns across ethnic subgroups of early adolescent girls.

Purpose

This study examined relationships between neighborhood variables, moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and active transportation to/from school across African American, Latino American, and White early adolescent girls living in an urban/suburban community in the northwestern U.S.A. Relations between the neighborhood variables across ethnic groups also were examined.

Method

The sample comprised 372 African American, Latino American, and White girls living in the U.S.A. (mean age = 12.06 years; SD = 1.69).

Results

Data were analyzed using multiple-sample structural equation modeling. Results showed that girls’ MVPA was positively related to physical activity facility accessibility and negatively related to age. Active transport was positively related to physical activity facility accessibility, neighborhood walkability, and age, and negatively related to distance to the nearest school and household income.

Conclusions

Findings highlight the importance of both perceived and objective neighborhood influences on girls’ MVPA and active transport. Consistencies in findings across African American, Latino American, and White girls suggest that neighborhood-level PA promotion has the potential for broad impact across all three ethnic groups.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grant HD059870 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the NICHD.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oregon Research Institute, 1776 Millrace Drive, Eugene, OR, 97403-2536, USA

    Susan C. Duncan, Lisa A. Strycker & Nigel R. Chaumeton

  2. Department of Community Medicine and Health Care, University of Connecticut Health Center, School of Medicine, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT, 06030-6325, USA

    Ellen K. Cromley

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  1. Susan C. Duncan
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  2. Lisa A. Strycker
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Correspondence to Susan C. Duncan.

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Duncan, S.C., Strycker, L.A., Chaumeton, N.R. et al. Relations of Neighborhood Environment Influences, Physical Activity, and Active Transportation to/from School across African American, Latino American, and White Girls in the United States. Int.J. Behav. Med. 23, 153–161 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-015-9508-9

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