How parents' perception of the social norm is associated with their adolescent’s commuting behaviour to school

Introduction Active commuting to school (ACS) and independent mobility (IM) are opportunities to increase physical activity among adolescents. Social norms might be related to these behaviours. The aim of this study was threefold, first to describe parents' perception of the social norm; second, to determine the associations between sociodemographic characteristics and parents' perception of the social norm; and third, to analyse the associations between parents' perception of the social norm and their adolescent’s commuting behaviour to and from school, according to the genders of parents and adolescents in Spain. Methods Data were collected through a questionnaire from 12 different public schools. The cross-sectional sample comprised 573 parents (61.8% mothers). The average age of adolescents was 13.2 years (SD = 2.21). Results Parents' perception of the social norm were low but linear regression analysis showed that it was higher when the adolescents were younger and the distance to school were shorter. Mothers' perception of the social norm were higher when the educational level and family socioeconomic status were higher. Logistic regression analysis showed that a higher perception of the social norm among parents increased the odds of their adolescents commuting actively to (OR = 1.58; CI; 1.23, 2.02) and from (OR = 1.63; CI; 1.25, 2.10) school. However, in separate analyses, this did not apply for ACS among boys from school (OR = 1.23; CI; 0.84, 1.80). The odds of girls using IM to school increased when parents' perception of the social norm was higher (OR = 1.39; CI; 1.04, 1.86). Conclusion Parents' perception of the social norm are relevant for ACS and IM during adolescence. The family sociodemographic characteristics influence the mothers' perception of the social norm. The importance of the social norm among parents differs between adolescent’s genders regarding their use of ACS and IM. To promote these behaviours, a social-norm approach is important targeting the visibility of ACS.