Portland State University
Spring 2013 Friday Transportation Seminar Series

Speaker: Tara Goddard, PhD Student in Urban Studies, PSU

Topic: Are Bicycling and Walking “Cool?”: Adolescent Attitudes about Active Travel

The declining rates of physical activity among children, particularly adolescent girls, are well-documented, yet there has been insufficient research into the attitudes about health behaviors, particularly active travel, of the children themselves. Tara’s research explores attitudes about active transportation among children aged 4-17 years and examines how perceived ability, self-efficacy, and sensitivity to certain environments or facilities vary across gender and age of the children. She utilizes data from the Family Activity Study, a multi-year longitudinal intervention study in Portland, Oregon, in which 490 children answered surveys regarding their attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors about traveling by walking, bicycling, or being in a car.

When: Friday, May, 24, 12-1 p.m.

Where: PSU Urban Center Building, SW 6th and Mill, Room 204