Perceptions of neighborhood safety and physical activity among youth : the CLAN study

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine associations between perceptions of neighborhood safety and physical activity among youth. Methods: We completed a cross-sectional study of children age 8 to 9 years (n = 188) and adolescents age 13 to 15 years (n = 346) in areas of varying socioeconomic status in Melbourne, Australia. Parents and adolescents completed questionnaires on perceptions of neighborhood safety. Scores were computed for perceptions of road safety, incivilities, and personal safety of the child or adolescent. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) before or after school, on evenings, and on weekends was recorded using accelerometers. Results: There were no associations between parental perceptions of neighborhood safety and children’s MVPA outside school hours. Parental perception of personal safety was positively associated with adolescent boys’ MVPA after school. Adolescent girls’ concern about road safety was negatively associated with their MVPA during evenings and outside school hours. Conclusion: Perceptions of neighborhood safety might influence physical activity among youth in different ways according to age group and sex.

Neighborhood road environments and physical activity among youth : the CLAN Study

We examined associations between objective measures of the local road environment and physical activity (including active transport) among youth. There is little empirical evidence of the impact of the road environment on physical activity among children/adolescents in their neighborhoods. Most recent studies have examined perceptions rather than objective measures of the road environment. This was a cross-sectional study of children aged 8–9 years (n = 188) and adolescents aged 13–15 years (n  = 346) who were participants in the 3-year follow-up of the Children Living in Active Neighborhoods (CLAN) longitudinal study in Melbourne, Australia. At baseline (2001), they were recruited from 19 state primary schools in areas of varying socioeconomic status across Melbourne. Habitual walking/cycling to local destinations was parent-reported for children and self-reported for adolescents, while moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) outside school hours was recorded using accelerometers. Road environment features in each participant’s neighborhood (area of radius 800 m around the home) were measured objectively using a geographical information system. Regression analyses found no associations between road environment variables and children’s likelihood of making at least seven walking/cycling trips per week to neighborhood destinations. Adolescent girls residing in neighborhoods with two to three traffic/pedestrian lights were more likely to make seven or more walking/cycling trips per week as those whose neighborhoods had fewer traffic lights (OR: 2.7; 95% CI: 1.2–6.2). For adolescent boys, residing on a cul-de-sac, compared with a through road, was associated with increases in MVPA of 9 min after school, 5 min in the evenings, and 22 min on weekend days. Speed humps were positively associated with adolescent boys’ MVPA during evenings. The road environment influences physical activity among youth in different ways, according to age group, sex and type of physical activity.

Youth culture educational reform and pedagogy

The discourse of globalisation and the knowledge economy are now front and centre of the ever changing discourse of youth and youth identity. Educational reform in Malaysian society is seeking to engage the problems of globalization and the need for reform in schooling as a prerequisite for social and economic development. The education of youth is as a critical prerequisite for national advancement and development. The syllogism that structures debate with respect to globalization, youth and education is that reform to teaching technique will lead to improved competencies in students and this in turn will lead to improvements in human capital thus leading to economic and social advancement. Missing from such a simple approach is an understanding of youth culture in its multiple forms as now being productive of capacities, knowledge’s and attitudes that are arguably often far in advance of what is taught in schools. This argues that often the action in terms of cognitive growth, glocalised competencies, collaboration, cross cultural dialogue and innovative creativity are found in youth cyber communities, popular cultural movements often portrayed as problematic or troublesome. Proper educational strategies in Malaysian schooling society require teachers to learn from their students and engage innovative pedagogy not as something to be taught top down in rote fashion, but as something that is genuinely open, interactive and dialogical. This paper will discuss this theoretical issue with specific reference to Malaysian examples and policy initiatives.

Are youth mentoring programs good value-for-money? An evaluation of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Melbourne program

Background : The Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) program matches vulnerable young people with a trained, supervised adult volunteer as mentor. The young people are typically seriously disadvantaged, with multiple psychosocial problems.

Methods : Threshold analysis was undertaken to determine whether investment in the program was a worthwhile use of limited public funds. The potential cost savings were based on US estimates of life-time costs associated with high-risk youth who drop out-of-school and become adult criminals. The intervention was modelled for children aged 10–14 years residing in Melbourne in 2004.

Results : If the program serviced 2,208 of the most vulnerable young people, it would cost AUD 39.5 M. Assuming 50% were high-risk, the associated costs of their adult criminality would be AUD 3.3 billion. To break even, the program would need to avert high-risk behaviours in only 1.3% (14/1,104) of participants.

Conclusion : This indicative evaluation suggests that the BBBS program represents excellent 'value for money'.

Rural youth and multimedia: an interagency approach.

The 10MMM multimedia project began in late 2002 in a rural region of  western Victoria and has now entered its second stage. It is an interagency initiative intended to decrease the social isolation of rural young people and stimulate the expression of youth 'voice' and leadership using multimedia tools. As the process of working with rural young people unfolds over time, it provides an opportunity for ongoing reflection on the extent to which the project can become truly driven by young people, and whether it can enable them to take a stronger leadership role in their rural communities.

Evidence based approaches to youth justice

This monograph was originally prepared as part of a review of services and programs offered in youth justice facilities in South Australia for the Office of the Guardian for Children andYoung People.

Affective determinants of treatment engagement in violent offenders

Affective factors are likely to play a major role in determining the extent to which offenders are able to engage with, and benefit from, treatment. In this article, it is argued that the relationship between affect and treatment engagement may be understood in three ways: the access the client has to emotional states, the ability to express such states, and the willingness of the client to do this in the therapeutic session. It is suggested that affective determinants of treatment readiness can be understood with reference tomodels of emotional regulation and that attention to these affective factors in the early stages of treatment is likely to promote engagement, reduce attrition, and consequently improve treatment outcomes for violent offenders.

Dose-response associations between screen time and overweight among youth

Objective. To examine dose-response associations between screen time and overweight, independent of physical activity and dietary intake.

Methods. Participants were 580 Dutch youth (13 years; 48% boys). Body mass index, waist circumference and skinfold thickness at four sites determined weight status. Questionnaires examined television viewing and computer use, participation in organized sport and high caloric snack and sugar-containing beverage consumption.

Results. There were no significant associations among boys. Compared with girls spending less than two hours/day in screen time, those who spent three to four hours/day were more likely to be classified as overweight by waist circumference (odds ratio [OR]=3.4; 95% confidence intervals [CI]=1.1-10.7; p=0.03), and this likelihood increased substantially among those spending more than four hours/day (OR=5.5; 95% CI=2.1-14.1; p≤0.0001).

Conclusions. Girls who spend three or more hours/day in screen time are at increased risk of being classified as overweight by waist circumference.

Anger and indigenous men : understanding and responding to violent behaviour

This book is for social work and criminal justice practitioners who wish to develop culturally appropriate and effective programs for reducing anger-related violence perpetrated by Indigenous men. It places cultural context at the heart of any intervention, broadening the focus from problematic behaviour to a more holistic notion of well-being.