The Ripple Association of Mothers’ Non-transport Pro-environmental Behaviours with Adolescents’ Travel-to-School Mode Choices

This study investigates the relationship between maternal non-transport pro-environmental behaviours, such as energy conservation and environmentally friendly purchases, and adolescents’ sustainable transport to school and its temporal changes. Data from waves 4 and 10 of the UK Understanding Society survey (3,022 and 1,890 mother-adolescent pairs, respectively) were analysed using logistic regression to explore the relationship between factor scores for mothers’ non-traffic pro-environmental behaviours (derived from confirmatory factor analysis) and adolescents’ sustainable transport to school. This study also explored the interaction between maternal non-transport pro-environmental behaviours and survey year to assess temporal variations. The findings indicated substantial correlations between myriad variables, including adolescents’ age, mothers’ occupational and transport behaviours, and the number of household vehicles, with the adolescents’ mode of travel to school consistent across both waves. Moreover, a declining yet positive correlation was found between maternal non-transport pro-environmental behaviours and adolescents’ sustainable school transport. Hence, encouraging a range of sustainable behaviours among mothers is crucial to promoting adolescents’ sustainable school transport. Additionally, when evaluating the effectiveness of sustainable behavioural interventions targeting adults, considering the ripple correlation with adolescent child behaviours is essential.