Maternal perception of neighborhood safety as a predictor of child weight status: The moderating effect of gender and assessment of potential mediators

Abstract

Objective-To determine if there is a relationship between maternal perception of neighborhood safety in 3 rd grade and weight status in 5 th grade children, to test if gender moderates this relationship, and to identify potential mediators.Method-Data from 868 children and their mothers involved in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD-SECCYD) were used to examine the relationship between maternal perception of neighborhood safety in the 3 rd grade and child BMI z-score in the 5 th grade. Multiple regression models were used to test this relationship, the effect of gender, and potential mediating variables (time outdoors in neighborhood, television viewing, child behavior problems and puberty status).Results-Neighborhood safety ratings in the least safe tertile in 3 rd grade, compared to the safest tertile, were associated with an increased risk of obesity independent of gender, race and incometo-needs ratio (OR = 1.59; 95% CI 1.03, 2.46), and a higher child BMI z-scores in the 5 th grade among girls, but not boys, compared to the safest tertile (β = 0.33; 95% confidence interval, 0.09, 0.57). Neither amount of time spent outdoors in the neighborhood, television viewing, child behavior problems (internalizing or externalizing), nor puberty status altered the relationship.Conclusions-Maternal perception of the neighborhood as unsafe in 3 rd grade independently predicted a higher risk of obesity, and a higher BMI z-score among girls, but not boys, in the 5 th grade. The relationship was not explained by several potential mediators. Further investigation is needed to explore these gender differences and potential mediators.

Independent associations between child and parent perceived neighborhood safety, child screen time, physical activity and BMI: a structural equation modeling approach

“…The same questions were repeated for weekend days (Cronbach's α = 0.60). Self-reported screen time shows some reliability among children aged as young as 11 years 28 and can more strongly predict adiposity among [8][9][10][11] year olds compared with objective measures of overall sedentary time (e.g., based on accelerometry), which capture a range of potentially less adverse sedentary behaviors such as reading or doing homework. 29 Weekday and weekend day screen times were summed and weighted to reflect average daily screen time in hours.…”

“…13 Much of the research on children's weight and weight-related behaviors has considered associations with objective (e.g., crime rate, traffic flow, street connectivity) or subjective measures of safety based on parents' reports. 9,10,14,15 Parent perceived neighborhood safety is associated with greater physical activity (e.g., outdoor play), decreased screen time and a decreased likelihood of obesity in children. 10,[16][17][18][19][20] Although some of the findings linking neighborhood safety features to weight-related outcomes are inconsistent, 11,21 there is at least some evidence that parents' perceptions have a role (e.g., due to their ability to restrict children's independent mobility if they perceive the environment as being unsafe).…”

“…9,10,14,15 Parent perceived neighborhood safety is associated with greater physical activity (e.g., outdoor play), decreased screen time and a decreased likelihood of obesity in children. 10,[16][17][18][19][20] Although some of the findings linking neighborhood safety features to weight-related outcomes are inconsistent, 11,21 there is at least some evidence that parents' perceptions have a role (e.g., due to their ability to restrict children's independent mobility if they perceive the environment as being unsafe). 9,18 Although adults' perceptions of safety are a stronger predictor of their own weight status than objective neighborhood measures, 22 little research considers school-aged children's perceptions of safety in relation to their own weight-related outcomes.…”

“…8 In the context of child health, perceived safety is a complex concept that can reflect concerns about exposure to concrete threats (e.g., traffic, 'stranger danger'), 9 and also broader experiences (e.g., contact with others in the neighborhood) and individual differences (e.g., income level, ethnicity). 10,11 Generalized beliefs about overall safety therefore capture individuals' 'everyday' model of the experience of safety. 12 These generalized perceptions of the environment may be particularly important in explaining psychosocial functioning and health.…”

Neighborhood Environment and Body Mass Index Trajectories From Adolescence to Adulthood

“…A small body of research suggests that it does [8,12,23,24]. Specifically, previous research suggests that a disordered neighborhood environment may be particularly noxious for women [23].…”