Active Commuting in Adolescents: Importance of Perceived Barriers and Accompaniment / Active Commuting in Adolescents : Importance of Perceived Barriers and Accompaniment

Abstract

The present study aims to know the predictive value of age, accompaniment, and physical and psychosocial barriers in active commuting. A total of 1,325 students from Primary Education and Secondary Education centers of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura (Spain) participated, with ages between 10-17 years (M =12.1; SD = 1.60). The students filled in information on the mode, distance, time and accompaniment through the PACO questionnaire, and the perceived barriers to active displacement using the BATACE scale. The results showed a significant incidence of accompaniment, distance, and perceived psychosocial barriers for active travel to school (R2 = .53; p = 0.00). It concludes on the importance of distance to the educational center, psychosocial barriers, and accompaniment as the most important elements in the realization of active displacement.