The Role of the Neighborhood Social Environment in Physical Activity among Hispanic Children: Moderation by Cultural Factors and Mediation by Neighborhood Norms

Yeonwoo Kim, Lorrene Ritchie, Andrew Landgraf, Rebecca E. Hasson and Natalie Colabianchi
Additional contact information
Yeonwoo Kim: Department of Kinesiology, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76010, USA
Lorrene Ritchie: Nutrition Policy Institute, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California, Oakland, CA 94607, USA
Andrew Landgraf: Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH 43201, USA
Rebecca E. Hasson: School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Natalie Colabianchi: School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 24, 1-17

Abstract: Little is known about how the neighborhood social environment (e.g., safety, crime, traffic) impacts child physical activity. We examine the mechanism by which the neighborhood social environment is associated with child physical activity, moderated by individual-level cultural factors (e.g., language at home, immigrant generation) and mediated by neighborhood physical activity-related social norms (e.g., seeing walkers in the neighborhood). Data included 2749 non-Hispanic White and Hispanic children from the Healthy Communities Study. Multilevel regression was performed. The neighborhood social environment was not associated with physical activity in the full sample. However, Hispanic children speaking both English and Spanish and first- or second-generation Hispanic children engaged in more physical activity when the quality of the neighborhood social environment was higher ( b = 1.60, p < 0.001 for Hispanic children speaking English and Spanish; b = 2.03, p < 0.01 for first-generation Hispanic children; b = 1.29, p < 0.01 for second-generation Hispanic children). Neighborhood physical activity-related social norms mediated the association between the neighborhood social environment and physical activity among Hispanic children speaking English and Spanish ( b = 0.33, p < 0.001) and second-generation Hispanic children ( b = 0.40, p < 0.001). Findings suggest heterogeneity in how neighborhood social environments impact physical activity by cultural factors. Health promotion programs may need to enhance neighborhood social environments to increase Hispanic children’s physical activity.

Keywords: social environment; cultural factors; physical activity; neighborhood social norms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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