BEHAVIOR AND PARENTAL EXPECTATIONS OF CHILD PEDESTRIANS

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Pedestrian injuries are the most common cause of death from trauma in young school-age children and an important cause of disability. The goal of our research is to identify parent attitudes, beliefs and behaviors which may increase the risk of injury. The study will test the hypothesis that parent's abilities to assess their children's pedestrian skills vary with the child's age and difficulty of the crossing task. The study will compare children's performance on street crossing tasks, knowledge and developmental assessment to parental perception of their children's performance of these tasks. At each of three developmental/age levels (5-6, 6-7, 8-9) 75 children and their mothers will be recruited, resulting in 225 subject-pairs. The children will be tested under actual street crossing conditions as well as with a well-tested simulation of street crossing. Parents will be examined in identical situations and asked to report on their estimates of the children's behavior. Children will also be tested on street crossing knowledge and on intellectual abilities. Parents will be asked to complete the same tests, again reporting on their perceived child's responses. The study hypothesis will be tested with appropriate comparisons between parent and child scores, controlling for necessary confounders. This study will provide the basis for more specific interventions, including programs directed at changing parent behavior. It will also serve as a model for the analysis of the mismatch between parent expectations and child performance in other injury problems and their prevention.