Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale – Youth (NEWS-Y)

Author of Tool: 

Brian E. Saelens, Ph.D.

Key references: 

Rosenberg, D. Ding, D., Sallis, J.F., Kerr, J., Norman, G.J., Durant, N., Harris, S.K., & Saelens,
B.E. (2009). Neighborhood environment walkability scale for youth (NEWS-Y): Reliability and relationship with physical activity. Preventive Medicine, 49, 213-218.

Primary use / Purpose: 

The NEWS-Y is a 67-question instrument that measures perception of neighborhood design features that may be related to physical activity in youth.

Background: 

The tool assesses residential density, land use mix (including indices of proximity and accessibility), street connectivity, infrastructure for walking/cycling, neighborhood aesthetics, and traffic and crime safety. There are separate self-administered versions for parents and adolescents (aged 11 and above).

The NEWS-Y instrument was derived from the NEWS-A, adaptations were made based on interviews with youth and parents, and it was tested in the Active Where? Study.

Psychometrics: 

The NEWS-Y was created in an attempt to provide a more succinct and empirically-derived measure of various aspects of the built environment we purport to be related to walking in youth. The results of multi-level confirmatory factor analysis, based on data from the Neighborhood Quality of Life Study, are reported elsewhere (see Cerin, E., Saelens, B.E., Sallis, J.F., & Frank, L.D. (2006).

Keywords: 

• Anxiety
• Family

Files: 

NEW-Y AdolescentNEWS-Y ParentNEWS-Y Scoring Procedure

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 

https://dx.doi.org/10.13072/midss.136