Table 3. Associations Between Characteristics of the Built Environment in School Neighborhoods and Physical Activity Outcomes Among Boys (n = 468), New York City, 2012.

Variable	Model No.a	Total Crimeb	Public Transportation Densityc	Walkabilityd	Park Accesse	Between- School Variation Explained,f %	Devianceg
		β (Standard Error)h [P Value]
Physical Activity Outcomes
Physical activity frequency i	3	0.266 (0.228) [.28]	−0.633 (0.423) [.16]	−0.482 (0.609) [.44]	0.056 (0.228) [.81]	NS	2148
Light	3	−0.090 (0.093) [.29]	−0.104 (0.163) [.32]	−0.140 (0.228) [.52]	0.007 (0.087) [.92]	NS	1315
Medium	3	0.232 (0.094) [.03]	−0.386 (0.168) [.04]	−0.360 (0.240) [.16]	0.001 (0.090) [.99]	41	1350
	4	0.193 (0.088) [.04]	−0.428 (0.162) [.02]	—	—	47	1348
Heavy	3	0.099 (0.070) [.18]	−0.177 (0.119) [.16]	−0.160 (0.159) [.33]	0.020 (0.063) [.76]	NS	1350
Physical activity durationj	3	−0.143 (0.266) [.60]	−0.072 (0.475) [.88]	−0.673 (0.680) [.34]	0.024 (0.251) [.92]	NS	2192
Light	3	−0.216 (0.083) [.15]	−0.052 (0.145) [.73]	−0.305 (0.191) [.13]	0.055 (0.074) [.47]	82	1341
	4	−0.189 (0.076) [.02]	—	—	—	59	1336
Medium	3	−0.047 (0.122) [.71]	−0.055 (0.216) [.80]	−0.369 (0.312) [.26]	−0.032 (0.115) [.79]	NS	2192
Heavy	3	0.056 (0.092) [.55]	0.027 (0.160) [.87]	−0.230 (0.221) [.31]	0.004 (0.083) [.96]	14	1360
Psychosocial Factors
Self-efficacy of walking for exercisek	3	−0.063 (0.064) [.44]	0.017 (0.108) [.98]	0.072 (0.163) [.77]	−0.001 (0.059) [.78]	NS	1159
Self-efficacy of walking or biking instead of taking a car, bus, or subway to schoolk	3	−0.004 (0.089) [.97]	−0.093 (0.144) [.53]	0.073 (0.214) [.74]	−0.054 (0.081) [.52]	NS	1360
Behavioral intention for physical activityl	3	−0.180 (0.085) [.05]	0.046 (0.015) [.77]	0.096 (0.225) [.68]	−0.112 (0.082) [.16]	13	1172
	4	−0.178 (0.074) [.03]		0.179 (0.736) [.40]		31	1167
Habit strength for physical activityl	3	−0.178 (0.076) [.03]	0.378 (0.013) [.01]	−0.246 (0.173) [.18]	0.005 (0.068) [.94]	99	1432
	4	−0.216 (0.078) [.01]	0.375 (0.138) [.02]	—	—	67	1428

Abbreviations: —, variable was not included in the model; NS, nonsignificant.

^a Model 3 is the full model, which uses all 4 built environment characteristics of interest and controls for age and body mass index z score. Model 4 is the reduced model, which was constructed by using stepwise exclusion of nonsignificant effects from model 3.

^b Total crime index was personal crime, murder, rape, robbery, assault, property crime, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft, where 100 represents the national average.

^c Counts of all unique bus and subway stops divided by the total enrollment zone area in square kilometers.

^d Sum of z scores of land use mix, intersection density, residential population density, and retail floor area density, ranging from −14.19 to 13.20. A higher score on the index represents a neighborhood more likely to support walking.

^e Proportion of school neighborhood (enrollment zone) land area covered by parks and playgrounds, ranging from 0 to 1.

^f Percentage of variation in mean physical activity behaviors and psychosocial factors explained by neighborhood-level built environment characteristics, calculated as (between-school variation from model 1 minus between-school variation from model 3 OR model 4) divided by between-school variation from model 1. Model 1 examined the between-school variation in individual students’ physical activity behaviors and psychosocial factors without any explanatory variables.

^g Deviance is defined as minus twice the natural logarithm of the likelihood and is used an indicator of model fit.

^h β coefficient (standard error) estimated for a difference equivalent to a 1 interquartile range (75th percentile minus 25th percentile) change.

ⁱ Assessed with the questions: light intensity, “In the past week, I did things that got me up and moving”; medium intensity, “In the past week, I did things that made my heart beat a little faster”; and heavy intensity, “In the past week, I did things that got my heart beating really fast.”

^j Assessed with the questions: light duration, “How long each time did I do things that got me up and moving?”; medium duration, “How long each time did I do things that made my heart beat a little faster?”; and heavy duration, “How long each time did I do things that got my heart beating really fast?”

^k Assessed with the question “I am sure I can walk for exercise” and “I am sure I can walk or bike to school instead of taking a car, bus or subway.”

^l Assessed with the question “I would like to do more physical activity” and “When I think about myself, physical activity is part of my daily routine.”