Canadian children's independent mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic: A national survey

Children's independent mobility (IM) represents their freedom to move around in public spaces without adult supervision (Hillman et al., 1990). Previous research shows that children with higher IM accumulate more physical activity (PA), spend more time outdoors, and are more likely to engage in active transportation (AT) to/from school (Author, 2014; Page et al., 2009, 2010; Schoeppe et al., 2013; Stone et al., 2014). IM can also contribute to children's social, motor, and cognitive development (Author, 2018). Over the last century, large decreases in IM have been reported in many countries (Fyhri et al., 2011; Gaster et al., 1992; Hillman et al., 1990; Kyttä et al., 2015; Schoeppe et al., 2016; Shaw et al., 2013). In parallel, the proportion of children who walk or cycle to school has declined markedly (Author, 2014b; Author, 2018b; McDonald et al., 2011).

Research on the correlates of IM has expanded remarkably over the last 20 years (Marzi and Reimers, 2018; Author, 2022). A recent systematic review identified several consistent correlates of IM, including child age, race/ethnicity, having siblings, home ownership, proximity to parks, access to local destinations, and parental attitudes about IM and concerns about traffic safety (Author, 2022). Interestingly, this review obtained inconsistent findings for parent-perceived neighbourhood safety and urban form variables such as neighbourhood walkability, type of home (e.g., single-vs. multi-family), and level of urbanization (Author, 2022). Although lower density neighbourhoods may be viewed as safer by parents, they may provide fewer opportunities to engage in AT, play outdoors, or use public transit (Kyttä, 2004). In Canada, most studies on IM have been conducted in larger cities, such as Toronto and Vancouver (Author, 2014; 2014c, 2019, 2021), underscoring a need for studies that include smaller cities and rural areas where opportunities for IM may differ substantially.

More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on children's health behaviours with a scoping review including 110 empirical studies consistently indicating decreases in PA, increases in screen time, and shifts to later bed and wake times (Author, 2021). The closure of parks and other recreational facilities may have reduced children's IM, outdoor play, and PA (Author, 2020; 2021). Yet, very few studies have focussed specifically on IM during the pandemic. In a national survey, 56.6% of Canadian parents perceived no changes in their child's IM since the outbreak of COVID-19, but 32.8% reported a decrease and only 10.6% reported an increase (Author et al., in press). In this context, a more in-depth investigation of the correlates of IM during COVID-19 is warranted to inform strategies to support IM, particularly during pandemics, which are likely to happen more frequently in the future (Myers and Frumkin, 2020; Patz et al., 2014).

Therefore, we investigated the correlates of IM during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (December 2020) with a national sample of Canadian parents of 7- to 12-year-olds. Based on previous research, this age range corresponds to when IM is most variable and it appears to be a crucial period for the development of IM (Shaw et al., 2015). Our study was guided by the social-ecological model based on previous research on the correlates of IM (Marzi and Reimers, 2018; Mitra, 2013; Author, 2019; 2019b, 2022). Social-ecological models posit that behaviours are determined by multiple levels of influence, and they have been widely adopted in PA research (Bauman et al., 2012; Sallis et al., 2006). In our analyses, we considered individual (e.g., characteristics of the child such as age, gender, (dis)ability, etc.), family (e.g., characteristics of other members of the household such as parent respondent's gender and concerns about COVID-19, sociodemographic characteristics), social environment (e.g., social cohesion and perceived crime and traffic safety), and built environment (e.g., neighbourhood walkability and region of Canada) factors.

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