Children's independent mobility during dark hours
A scoping review
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22072072 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Anna Litsmark (0009-0008-6913-5364, Lund University, corresponding author), Johan Rahm (0000-0002-7331-1286, Lund University), Pimkamol Mattsson (Lund University), Maria Johansson (0000-0001-7947-3297, Lund University) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Pages | 1110224-1110224 |
| Publication date | 2023-06-09 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565 |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1110224 |
| PMID | 37361172 |
| OpenAlex | W4380082630 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 116 |
Introduction: Independent mobility is every child's right and has implications for their health, wellbeing, and development. This scoping review addresses children's needs and experiences of light conditions in their everyday outdoor life. The review examines peer-reviewed scientific literature that analyses associations between different light conditions and children's independent mobility (CIM) during dark hours. Methods: By formulating a Boolean search string, including terms related to children independent mobility, light and outdoor environment, five scientific databases were searched. The search resulted in 67 eligible papers that were analyzed through an inductive, thematic analysis. Results: Four overarching themes representing the researched topics of the effects of light conditions with importance for CIM during dark hours were identified: (1) physical activity (PA) and active travel, (2) outdoor activities and place use, (3) safety perception, and (4) outdoor risks. The findings highlight that darkness constitutes a major obstacle for CIM, and that fear of darkness is common among children. It restricts the degree of CIM and influences children's safety perception as well as how they navigate through public places outdoors. The findings show that the type and design of outdoor settings during dark hours and children's familiarity with places during daytime could play a role in the degree of CIM after dark. The presence of outdoor lighting is related to children's increased PA and active travel, and outdoor lighting seems to also influence children's place use and interaction with the environment. The presence and extent of outdoor lighting and lighting quality may play a role in children's safety perception, which in turn can influence CIM. Discussion: The findings suggest that promoting CIM during dark hours might not only contribute to the accumulation of children's PA, confidence, and skills, but also support mental health. The understanding of children's perspectives on the quality of outdoor lighting needs to be deepened to support CIM. Highlighting the child perspective would aid the development of current recommendations for outdoor lighting and the implementation of the Agenda 2030 of ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing for all at all ages, and making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable throughout the day and seasons
Everyday life · Geography · Obstacle · Outdoor activity · Perception · Physical activity · Physical medicine and rehabilitation · Qualitative research · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Applied Psychology · Impact of Light on Environment and Health · Medicine · Psychology · Urban Green Space and Health · Urban Transport and Accessibility
Victimology (Routledge Revivals)
Children's active travel and independent mobility in four countries
The development of normal fear
Can the Neighborhood Built Environment Make a Difference in Children's Development? Building the Research Agenda to Create Evidence for Place-Based Children's Policy
A future for the world's children? A WHO–Unicef–Lancet Commission
Kids in the City
Associations of children's independent mobility and active travel with physical activity, sedentary behaviour and weight status
An Ecological Approach to Creating Active Living Communities
The theory of planned behavior
Systematic review or scoping review? Guidance for authors when choosing between a systematic or scoping review approach
The PRISMA 2020 statement
“In the evening, I don’t walk in the park”
Reducing Crime Through Environmental Design
Outline of a Theory of Practice
Children's Geographies
Tracking Children’s Physical Activity Patterns across the School Year
Neighborhood Built Environment Measures and Association with Physical Activity and Sedentary Time in 9–14-Year-Old Children in Saskatoon, Canada
Association of Light Exposure on Physical Activity and Sedentary Time in Young People
Examining the Features of Parks That Children Visit During Three Stages of Childhood
The relationship between living in urban and rural areas of Scotland and children’s physical activity and sedentary levels
Development and convergent validity of new self-administered questionnaires of active transportation in three African countries
Young adolescents' independent mobility, related factors and association with transport to school. A cross-sectional study
Built environment and physical activity
Association between the built environment and children's independent mobility
Changing Global Childhoods
The role of village and local festivals in adolescents’ discovery of nightlife
Anyone could be lurking around!”
Adolescents’ daily places to discover nightlife in Barcelona, Spain
Children's out-of-home leisure activities
Development of a systems model to visualise the complexity of children's independent mobility
Chilling’ and ‘hopping’ in the ‘teenage space network’
Doing consumption and sitting cars
Nightscapes and leisure spaces’
Exploring children’s seasonal play to promote active lifestyles in Auckland, New Zealand
Examination of perceived neighborhood characteristics and transportation on changes in physical activity and sedentary behavior
Do features of public open spaces vary according to neighbourhood socio-economic status
Do you think that your local area is a good place for young people to grow up? The effects of traffic and car parking on young people's views
The safe journeys of an enterprising school
Adolescents’ Perceived Safety and Security in Public Space—A Swedish Focus Group Study with a Gender Perspective
Are Safety-Related Features of the Road Environment Associated with Smaller Declines in Physical Activity among Youth
A Child’s View
Neighborhood Road Environments and Physical Activity Among Youth
Gender differences in a walking environment safety perception
Children’s independent mobility in Portugal
Questioning gender stereotypes
Bold Walk and Breakings
Re-imagining the rural
Growing-up in the countryside
Analyzing the Activity Spaces of Low-Income Teenagers
Crime prevention and community safety
Introduction
Revisiting fear and place
Seasonal and locational variations in children's play
A novel low-cost method for assessing intra-urban variation in night time light and applications to public health
Using thematic analysis in psychology
When, Where, if, and but
Understanding the School Journey
Children's Independent Spatial Mobility in the Urban Public Realm
Light, connectivity and place
Introduction to geographies of darkness
Night walking
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |