戶外活動與孩童健康有密切之關係，然近年孩童遊玩之重心逐漸由室外轉入室內，加上孩童由父母接送上下學的比例大幅提升，更減少孩童自主活動之機會。而社區環境為兒童活動的重要場所，在諸多的文獻回顧顯示，社區環境對孩童體重及體能活動有顯著之影響。因而瞭解適宜兒童活動的社區環境特性，並提出對應的環境設計建議，對兒童身心的健全發展極為重要。
本研究之目的為探討社區環境特性對於孩童戶外活動之影響，以台南市三個不同規劃型式之社區－新興規劃區、中度發展區、舊紋理區為研究範圍，並依三個區域9-12歲的孩童人口數，採分層配額抽樣，經由問卷調查瞭解孩童對社區環境之感受及其戶外活動之情形，共回收336份有效問卷。資料分析方式為：項目分析、因素分析、多元迴歸分析、獨立樣本T檢定，及單因子變異數分析等方法。
研究結果顯示，社區環境特性分為七個因子：「社交性」、「吸引性」、「愉悅性」、「街道安全」、「便利性」、「社區安全」、「開放空間完善性」。戶外活動分為三個因子：「遊玩」、「運動」、「日常活動」。兩項研究主題之關係以及與背景屬性之差異敘述如下：
1.「社區環境特性」對「孩童戶外活動」確實有影響：其中吸引性、社交性可預測遊玩及運動之頻率。便利性及社交性則可預測日常活動之頻率。
2.「不同規劃型式」社區之「社區環境特性」有顯著差異：其中以具有較多開放性公共空間之新興規劃區，孩童在社交性、愉悅性、街道安全、及便利性之感受上都顯著較高。
3.「不同規劃型式」社區之「孩童戶外活動」有顯著差異：而以安平舊紋理區之孩童，其日常活動頻率顯著較高。
4.「孩童背景屬性」於「社區環境特性」及「戶外活動頻率」有顯著差異：其中性別、年齡、年級、住宅型態、庭園型式、父親教育程度、母親教育程度皆與社區環境特性有顯著差異。而性別、年齡、年級、庭園型式、有無可用腳踏車、有無玩伴、家庭組成、父親教育程度與孩童戶外活動行為有顯著差異。

The physical environment of the neighborhood is an important factor for children’s activities. Previous studies have found environmental characteristics such as accessibility and walkability may affect children’s physical abilities and health. Understanding the relationship between children’s activities and environmental characteristics in the neighborhood is thus imperative to facilitating their physical and mental development.
The aim of this study is to identify the environmental characteristics in the neighborhood that affect children’s outdoor activities, and evaluate these perceptions for age-related developmental differences.
336 children aged 9-12 years old from neighborhoods with different pattern in Tainan city were selected to complete a survey, on their perception of neighborhood environment and the frequency of outdoor activity. The questionnaires inquire statistical tool, such as factor analysis and linear regression were employed to analyze the data.
The results showed that the characteristic of neighborhood environment is consisted of seven factors: sociability, attractiveness, amenity, traffic safety, convenience, crime safety, and open space integrity; the outdoor activity was composed of three factors: play, exercise, and daily activity. Linear regression analyses showed a positive association between neighborhood environment characteristic and the frequency of outdoor activity among children. The sociability, attractiveness, and convenience are revealed to have effects on children’s outdoor activity, and both planning type of the neighborhood and personal background have moderated children’s perceptions of neighborhood and outdoor activity frequency.
The three communities investigated were revealed to possess different combinations of street pattern and land uses, which in turn are conducive to different activities of children. These findings are valuable to community design in which the promotion of children’s activity and provision of a better environment are equally important.

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