Exploring Neighborhood Bonds and Built-Environment on Parents’ Perceived Safety
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59188/eduvest.v4i7.1629Keywords:
Parent’s Perceived Safety, Neighborhood Bonds, Built-Environment, Children’s Independent MobilityAbstract
This study investigates parents’ perceived safety on neighborhood bonds and built-environment factors in letting their children roam outside unaccompanied using a qualitative lens. Based on interviews with parents in the Jakarta Greater Area, the research reveals that strong community cohesion and a perceived safe built-environment significantly enhance parents' sense of safety, thereby promoting children’s independent mobility. Conversely, neighborhoods with weaker neighborhood cohesion adding unmaintained built-environments such as and lack of playing field and pedestrian infrastructure heighten parents' fears about allowing unsupervised outdoor activities, thus limiting children's independence. Qualitative insights underscore that parents' primary concerns revolve around perceived risks from traffic and strangers when considering allowing their children to venture out alone. This research underscores the urgency for parents’ education and policy intervention planning that prioritizes walkable, safe routes, and safe parks and fosters strong community ties to promote children’s independent mobility.
References
Azevedo, V., Sani, A., Nunes, L. M., & Pauloa, D. (2021). Do you Feel Safe in the Urban Space? From Perceptions to Associated Variables. Anuario de Psicologia Juridica, 31(1), 75–84. https://doi.org/10.5093/APJ2021A12
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2020). Can I use TA? Should I use TA? Should I not use TA? Comparing reflexive thematic analysis and other pattern‐based qualitative analytic approaches. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 00(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12360
Brussoni, M., Lin, Y., Han, C., Janssen, I., Schuurman, N., Boyes, R., Swanlund, D., & Mâsse, L. C. (2020). A qualitative investigation of unsupervised outdoor activities for 10- to 13-year-old children: “I like adventuring but I don’t like adventuring without being careful.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, 70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101460
Dodd, H. F., Fitzgibbon, L., Watson, B. E., & Nesbit, R. J. (2021). Children’s play and independent mobility in 2020: Results from the british children’s play survey. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084334
Fleckman, J. M., Tokarz, S., Claire Craig-Kuhn, M., Wallace, M. E., & Theall, K. P. (2022). Neighborhood matters: Neighborhood violence, collective efficacy, and social emotional development in early childhood. Children and Youth Services Review, 143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106700
Foster, S., Villanueva, K., Wood, L., Christian, H., & Giles-Corti, B. (2014). The impact of parents’ fear of strangers and perceptions of informal social control on children’s independent mobility. Health and Place, 26, 60–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2013.11.006
Foster, S., Wood, L., Francis, J., Knuiman, M., Villanueva, K., & Giles-Corti, B. (2015). Suspicious minds: Can features of the local neighbourhood ease parents’ fears about stranger danger? Journal of Environmental Psychology, 42, 48–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2015.02.001
Giles-Corti, B., Wood, G., Pikora, T., Learnihan, V., Bulsara, M., Van Niel, K., Timperio, A., McCormack, G., & Villanueva, K. (2011). School site and the potential to walk to school: The impact of street connectivity and traffic exposure in school neighborhoods. Health and Place, 17(2), 545–550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2010.12.011
Konok, V., Bunford, N., & Miklósi, Á. (2020). Associations between child mobile use and digital parenting style in Hungarian families. Journal of Children and Media, 14(1), 91–109. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2019.1684332
Lee, S. M., Conway, T. L., Frank, L. D., Saelens, B. E., Cain, K. L., & Sallis, J. F. (2017). The Relation of Perceived and Objective Environment Attributes to Neighborhood Satisfaction. Environment and Behavior, 49(2), 136–160. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916515623823
Lin, E. Y., Witten, K., Casswell, S., & You, R. Q. (2012). Neighbourhood matters: Perceptions of neighbourhood cohesiveness and associations with alcohol, cannabis and tobacco use. Drug and Alcohol Review, 31(4), 402–412. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-3362.2011.00385.x
Lin, E. Y., Witten, K., Smith, M., Carroll, P., Asiasiga, L., Badland, H., & Parker, K. (2017). Social and built-environment factors related to children’s independent mobility: The importance of neighbourhood cohesion and connectedness. Health and Place, 46, 107–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2017.05.002
Medeiros, A., Clark, A. F., Martin, G., Seabrook, J. A., & Gilliland, J. (2021). Examining how children’s gender influences parents’ perceptions of the local environment and their influence on children’s independent mobility. Wellbeing, Space and Society, 2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wss.2021.100062
Mesman, J., & Groeneveld, M. G. (2018). Gendered parenting in early childhood: subtle but unmistakable if you know where to look. Child Development Perspectives, 12(1), 22–27. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12250
Mitra, R., Faulkner, G. E., Buliung, R. N., & Stone, M. R. (2014). Do parental perceptions of the neighbourhood environment influence children’s independent mobility? Evidence from Toronto, Canada. Urban Studies, 51(16), 3401–3419. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098013519140
Oliver, M., Badland, H., Mavoa, S., Witten, K., Kearns, R., Ellaway, A., Hinckson, E., Mackay, L., & Schluter, P. J. (2014). Environmental and socio-demographic associates of children’s active transport to school: A cross-sectional investigation from the URBAN Study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-11-70
Pitner, R. O., Yu, M. S., & Brown, E. (2012). Making neighborhoods safer: Examining predictors of residents’ concerns about neighborhood safety. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 32(1), 43–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2011.09.003
Staunton, C. E., Hubsmith, D., & Kallins, W. (2003). Promoting Safe Walking and Biking to School: The Marin County Success Story. American Journal of Public Health, 93(9), 1431–1434.
Truong, M. Van, Nakabayashi, M., & Hosaka, T. (2022). How to encourage parents to let children play in nature: Factors affecting parental perception of children’s nature play. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 69(February), 127497. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2022.127497
Villanueva, K., Giles-Corti, B., Bulsara, M., Trapp, G., Timperio, A., McCormack, G., & Van Niel, K. (2014). Does the walkability of neighbourhoods affect children’s independent mobility, independent of parental, socio-cultural and individual factors? Children’s Geographies, 12(4), 393–411. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2013.812311
Warren, K. L., & Peterson, C. (2014). Exploring parent-child discussions of crime and their influence on children’s memory. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 32(6), 686–701. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2144
Witten, K., Kearns, R., Carroll, P., Asiasiga, L., & Tava’e, N. (2013). New Zealand parents’ understandings of the intergenerational decline in children’s independent outdoor play and active travel. Children’s Geographies, 11(2), 215–229. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2013.779839
Yossa, N. (2023a). Addressing Maternal Perceived Fears in Supervising Children’s Mobility. In International Journal of Science and Society (Vol. 5). http://ijsoc.goacademica.com
Yossa, N. (2023b, December 20). Investigating Parenting Methods in Children’s Everyday Use of Public Space. https://doi.org/10.4108/eai.26-11-2022.2339544
Yossa, N., Kim, C., Pojani, D., & Sipe, N. (2023). Is public transit meeting the needs of women? A gender audit of two Asian metro systems. Journal of Urban Design. https://doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2023.2240247.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Nirma Yossa
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.