TABLE 1.
Descriptive Statistics for Dependent and Independent Variables 8th Grade Girls w/in 1.5 miles of school (n = 890)
| Measure | Units | Percentage/Mean† |
|---|---|---|
| Any weekday walking to or from school | % | 56.2 |
| Perception of Neighborhood Variables(survey) * | ||
| There are places I like to walk in my neighborhood | % Agree | 65.4 |
| There are sidewalks in my neighborhood | % Agree | 68.3 |
| There are biking/walking trails in my neighborhood | % Agree | 47.5 |
| It is safe to walk in my neighborhood | % Agree | 70.1 |
| I see walkers/bikers from my home | % Agree | 64.7 |
| There is too much traffic in my neighborhood | % Disagree | 68.5 |
| There is a lot of crime in my neighborhood | % Disagree | 70.1 |
| I often see kids playing in my neighborhood | % Agree | 62.5 |
| There are interesting things to look at in my neighborhood | % Agree | 43.5 |
| The streets are well lit in my neighborhood | % Agree | 42.5 |
| Total perceived destinations ~ | mean | 4.6 (2.4) |
| Objective Environment/Neighborhood Variables (GIS calculated) | (Mean†) | |
| Total Actual Active Destinations | mean | 4.06 (1.96) |
| Distance to School | miles | 0.92 (0.38) |
| Townsend Index | # | −0.14 (0.97) |
| % African American | % | 16.9 (0.23) |
| % Hispanic | % | 6.3 (0.08) |
| Total Population | Per sq mile | 2,265.80 (812.8) |
| Street Connectivity Index | # | 0.41 (2.92) |
| Block Size Index | # | −0.83 (1.31) |
| Land Use Mix (diversity) index | # | 0.47 (0.12) |
| Individual Race/Ethnicity (survey) | ||
| Nonhispanic White | % | 41.6 |
| Nonhispanic African American | % | 21.1 |
| Hispanic | % | 25.3 |
| Nonhispanic Other | % | 12.0 |
= Standard deviation in parenthesis where applicable
% agree/strongly agree and % disagree/strongly disagree were combined
Street connectivity, block size and Townsend indices: each component in index standardized by subtracting means and dividing by standard deviation; standardized components then added for scale values; Land use mix (diversity) index ranges from 0–1.
Perception of facilities (perceived active destinations) located near home was measured by asking girls to respond checklist of 14 facilities. The questions asked: “Is it easy to get to and from this place from home or school?” (yes or no). In order to match the perceived destinations to the objectively measured destinations, only eight of the original 14 destinations were used in our perceived destinations measure. Facilities listed included: basketball courts, golf courses, martial arts studios, parks, tracks, swimming pools, walking/biking trails, and dance studios. These were scored by adding the total number of facilities or destinations to which the participant could easily get to (range 0–9).