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The role of socio-economic, built environment and psychological factors in parental mode choice for their children in an Iranian setting

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Abstract

This research investigated the role of parental psychological and socio-economic factors as well as built environment for the choice of their children’s (primary school pupils, aged 7–9 years) travel mode to school in Rasht, Iran. A total of 1078 questionnaires were distributed (return rate of 80 percent) among pupils in nine primary schools in January 2014. A mixed logit (ML) model was employed due to its ability to test heterogeneity among parents and also to determine its possible sources. Results of random coefficient ML modelling showed that several psychological, socio-economic and built environment characteristics were significant factors in parental mode choice. Only walking time perception to school had a significant random normal distribution coefficient and no other psychological and socio-economic variable had a random effect. Further investigation by random coefficient analysis showed that the possible source of household preference heterogeneity could be to own two or more cars. Regarding psychological variables, strong parental worry about their children walking alone to school had a negative impact on allowing them to walk to school. Parents who evaluated poor contextual and design preconditions for walking tended to choose school service more than private car and walking. Parents with stronger environmental personal norms were more willing to allow their children to walk. The findings suggest that infrastructural measures, such as sidewalk facilities, neighborhood security and safety, encourage parents to allow children to walk to school. Information campaigns targeting environmental norms may increase walking among pupils in an Iranian setting.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to express our warmest appreciation and gratitude to all the Rasht city primary school administrators, pupils, teachers and anonymous parents who kindly assisted us in the completion of the research questionnaire.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Transportation Planning Department, Civil & Environmental Eng. Faculty, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

    Milad Mehdizadeh & AmirReza Mamdoohi

  2. Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway

    Trond Nordfjaern

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  1. Milad Mehdizadeh
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  2. Trond Nordfjaern
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  3. AmirReza Mamdoohi
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Correspondence to AmirReza Mamdoohi.

Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 6 and 7.

Table 6 Construct of parental attitudes towards walking in exploratory factor analysis-PCA
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Table 7 Construct of environmental norms in exploratory factor analysis-PCA
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Mehdizadeh, M., Nordfjaern, T. & Mamdoohi, A. The role of socio-economic, built environment and psychological factors in parental mode choice for their children in an Iranian setting. Transportation 45, 523–543 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-016-9737-z

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