Parental perceptions of neighbourhood environment and physical activity in children and adolescents: a systematic review

Background:
Evidence on the association between parental perceptions of the neighbourhood environment and physical activity in children and adolescents is inconsistent and has never been systematically reviewed and synthesised. Therefore, the aim of this study was to systematically review and synthesise the evidence on this topic.

Methods:
Literature search was conducted in eight electronic databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, PsycInfo, SPORTDiscus, Transport Research Information Services, Environment Complete, and Web of Science) in March 2023, and it was updated in December 2023. We included studies among children (5-11 years old), adolescents (12-17 years old) and mixed-age groups (5-17 years old) in which parental perceptions of neighbourhood environment were analysed in relation to physical activity levels, active travel, active outdoor play, active independent mobility, and sports participation.

Results:
A total of 151 studies were included in the review, most of which were of low methodological quality and used a cross-sectional design. We found 16, 5, and 4 parent-perceived characteristics of neighbourhood environment that were associated with different types of physical activity in children, adolescents, and mixed-age group, respectively. The strongest evidence was found for: (1) negative relationship of traffic volume and speed with children’s active travel, and (2) positive relationship between the proximity to school and active travel in children and mixed-age group. Findings for other parent-perceived characteristics of neighbourhood environment, including residential density, walking and cycling infrastructure, greenery, aesthetics, street connectivity, hilliness, and walkability were inconclusive.

Conclusions:
Shorter distance to school and low traffic volume and speed, as perceived by parents, are favourably associated with their children’s active travel. More studies of high methodological quality, preferably using a longitudinal design, are needed to estimate the associations between parental perceptions of environment attributes and physical activity among children and adolescents.