Active travel behaviour in the family environment: protocol for the mixed-methods cross-sectional ARRIVE study

Abstract

IntroductionActive travel is an important source of physical activity and a primary contributor to overall health among adolescents. To understand and promote active travel behaviour in adolescents, developing a more robust understanding of the predictors of active travel and its associated decision-making processes is needed. Situated within a theoretical socioecological framework for adolescent travel behaviour, the mixed-methods Active tRavel behavioR in the famIly enVironmEnt study aims to quantitatively assess the influence of several predictors of adolescent travel behaviour, and to qualitatively understand the associated decision-making processes of both adolescents and parents.Methods and analysisOur mixed-methods approach will feature online surveys and semistructured interviews. The online questionnaire, developed in accordance with a theoretical framework of adolescent active travel, will examine adolescent travel behaviour with respect to four different destinations while controlling for multiple relevant individual, social and physical environment factors. To enable the comparison of adolescent and parental perspectives, the questionnaire will be answered by a representative sample of German adolescents (11–15 years old) and their parents.Our semistructured interviews, likewise framed based on the central tenets of the theoretical framework of adolescent active travel, will seek to explore the decision-making process of families regarding travel mode choice via conducting interviews with each member (ie, father, mother, adolescent). To investigate travel decision-making processes, adolescents and their parents will be invited to talk about trips they undertook using both active and passive transport modes during the last week. Thematic analyses will be conducted to highlight the central concerns, priorities and values of participants’ decision-making processes.Ethics and disseminationThis study has received ethical approval from the ethics commission of the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg. Study results will be disseminated at scientific conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals. Additionally, study findings will be made publicly available to relevant health, policy, and research stakeholders and groups.

Motivation and Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction in Active Travel to Different Destinations: A Cluster Analysis with Adolescents Living in Germany

“…A strength of the study was the focus on the adolescent population, which is at risk for physical inactivity and is rather under-researched in the field of AT compared to younger children [ 54 , 55 ]. Assessing AT behavior without focusing exclusively on the school context demonstrated another unique feature of the ARRIVE study compared to most other research in this field [ 53 ]. Using a person-centered approach allowed identifying groups of adolescents that share specific combinations of motivational characteristics and helped identify particularly vulnerable adolescents (e.g., C1).…”

“…The present research is conducted within the ARRIVE (Active tRavel behavioR in the famIly enVironmEnt) study. This cross-sectional study aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the social and individual factors that influence adolescents’ AT behavior [ 53 ]. The study addressed several gaps of current research in AT among youth.…”

“…The study addressed several gaps of current research in AT among youth. Specifically relevant for the present investigation is that ARRIVE focused on travel behavior, including more destinations instead of being restricted to the school domain like most prevailing research [ 8 , 53 ]. Additionally, it addresses the population of adolescents, which is rather under-researched compared to younger children [ 8 , 54 , 55 ].…”

“…Additionally, it addresses the population of adolescents, which is rather under-researched compared to younger children [ 8 , 54 , 55 ]. A detailed description of the ARRIVE study and all theoretical underpinnings can be found in the study protocol [ 53 ]. By exploring SDT-based clusters in the adolescent population, the present study contributes to the overall aim of the ARRIVE study to gain a deeper understanding of the diverse factors involved in the decision-making process on travel mode choice.…”

Exploring The Impact of Perceived Travel Risk Antecedents on Travel Intentions during The Endemic Phase of COVID-19: An Integrative Approach of Protective Motivation Theory (PMT) and Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB)

“…It is crucial to recognize that they inherently encompass elements of individual variation (Hagiladi & Plaut, 2023). For instance, generational disparities denote significant variations in cognitive and behavioral attributes among generational cohorts (Abraham et al, 2021;Reimers et al, 2022). Gender, too, extends beyond a demographic label to encapsulate diverse cognitive, social, and cultural dimensions (Cubells, 2023).…”