Parental perceptions of cycle skills training for adolescents

Objective Traffic safety is a key concern regarding cycling for transportation. Parental perceptions of adolescents’ cycle skills may influence the uptake of cycling for transportation among adolescents. This study examined parental perceptions of cycle skills training (CST) for New Zealand adolescents where rates of adolescents’ cycling for transportation are low. Methods Parents (n=310; age: 47.7±5.3 years; 77.7% females) of adolescents (age: 15.1±1.6 years; 51.0% females) from Dunedin (New Zealand) completed a survey about travel to school habits and parental perceptions of cycling to school, their adolescent's cycling skills, and CST (perceived benefits and provision of CST at school). Data were analysed using linear mixed models. Results More than half of parents perceived that their adolescents had very good or excellent cycling skills (57.8%). Overall, 73.2% of parents believed their adolescents would benefit from CST and of those parents 74.5% believed their adolescents would take CST at school. In a multivariate analysis, parental perceptions that cycling to school is important and unsafe, and having fewer vehicles at home were positively associated with parental perceptions that CST would make adolescents safer in traffic (all p<.05). Conclusions Nearly three-quarters of parents perceived that their adolescents would benefit from participation in CST. Parental perceptions that cycling to school is important and unsafe, and having fewer vehicles at home were associated with favourable parental perceptions of CST for adolescents. Future interventions should also involve parents and consider offering CST in secondary schools as a part of the efforts to promote active transport to school.