Sense of belonging, neighborhood satisfaction, and children's independent mobility license: a case study of Qom, Iran

The physical activity levels among younger people worldwide are significantly low, which can lead to adverse outcomes for their health. In this regard, this study aimed to investigate the effect of parents' sense of belonging as a social capital on children's independent mobility license. Moreover, the mediating variable of parents' neighborhood satisfaction (as the predictor of the living environment's quality) and demographic characteristics were assessed. The research used path analysis to examine data obtained from parents of 10-12-year children. The results showed that, although parents' sense of belonging cannot directly affect children's independent mobility license, it improves children's mobility through the mediating variable of neighborhood satisfaction. Also, parents' attributes, including length of residency, age, and sex, were influential in their sense of belonging and neighborhood satisfaction, and children's attributes, including age and sex, were influential in their license to move independently. Parents' neighborhood satisfaction was the most significant factor in children's independent mobility license. In this regard, the sense of belonging can affect the parents' perspective regarding their neighborhoods, so by considering social issues in city planning, children's mobility and, thus, their health outcomes can be improved.