Attitudes towards cycle skills training in New Zealand adolescents

- Little is known about adolescents' attitudes towards cycle skills training (CST).
- Over a third of adolescents perceived that CST could make them safer in traffic.
- Enjoyment, usefulness and desire to cycle were associated with a positive attitude.
- Parental behaviour and school's encouragement were also important.
- Schools may be an appropriate setting for provision of CST to adolescents.

IntroductionCycle skills training (CST) increases cycling skills in children. Whether CST could be beneficial to adolescents and whether adolescents would be interested in taking on such training remains unknown. This study examined correlates of adolescents' perception that CST could make them safer in traffic.Materials and methodsA total of 1453 adolescents (age: 15.1 ± 1.4 years; 44.9% boys) from 12 secondary schools in Dunedin (New Zealand) participating in the BEATS Study completed an online survey in 2014-2015. Questions assessed demographics, travel to school habits, attitudes towards cycling and CST, normative beliefs, perceived behavioural control and behavioural intention for cycling to school. Data were analysed using linear mixed models.ResultsOut of 38.5% of adolescents who perceived that CST could make them safer in traffic, nearly half would take CST at their school (43.1%). In a multivariate analysis, enjoying cycling for recreation, perceiving cycling to school as being useful, cycling frequently with parents, school's encouragement, and desire to cycle to school were positively associated with adolescents' perception that CST could make them safer in traffic (all p < .05).ConclusionEnjoyment of cycling for recreation, finding cycling to school useful, desire to cycle to school, frequent cycling with parents, and encouragement from schools were associated with favourable perceptions of CST in adolescents. Therefore, raising adolescents' awareness of the benefits of CST and potentially offering such training in secondary schools could be beneficial. Future interventions should involve parents and schools and aim to increase adolescents' interest in taking CST at school.