Social environment versus cycling competency predicting risk-taking in 11- to 13-year-old cyclists in The Netherlands

Abstract

Objectives: From age 12 onwards, cycling injuries begin rising in The Netherlands. A known contributing factor is younger children’s underdeveloped competency to deal with complex and hazardous traffic situations, and their exposure to such situations strongly increases after transitioning to secondary school. Little is known about intentional risk-taking as a contributing factor. In this developmental stage, children become increasingly vulnerable because of intentional risk-taking, affecting their safety and health. The incidence, predictors in the child’s social environment, and trends of such risks are systematically monitored; for instance, for alcohol use, smoking, and cyber bullying. Such monitors do not include risky road behavior. This exploratory field study examined the frequency of intentional risky cycling, its relationship with the perceived social environment, and relative to cycling competency measured as the ability to detect emerging hazards quickly.

Methods: Three hundred thirty-five students between 11 and 13 years of age (51% male) completed computerized tests of hazard perception skill and surveys on crashes, risk-taking, peer pressure, perceived risk-taking by parents or friends, and exposure to risky driving as passenger.

Results: Frequent risk-taking was associated with higher crash frequency. Stepwise regression confirmed that children who more often took risks on the road were also more sensitive to peer pressure, had more often been passengers of risky drivers, had parents and friends who exhibited risky behaviors in traffic more often, and perceived hazards as less dangerous but, in contrast to expectations, did not do worse on the detection of hazards. The predictors explained 28% of the variance in total risk-taking but varied from 6 to 20% depending on the specific risk-taking behavior concerned.

Conclusions: At least 20% of children sometimes or more often take risks in traffic. Children who feel peer pressure to behave in a risky manner, observe parents and friends behaving in a risky manner in traffic, and have been exposed as passengers to risky driving more often take risks in traffic themselves. These results provide support for including items on risky road behavior in health monitors and to design interventions that address the risk factors in the child’s perceived social environment.     

Dignity and the right of internally displaced adolescents in Colombia to sexual and reproductive health

In Colombia, national policies and laws on the protection of vulnerable populations pay specific attention to the sexual and reproductive health needs and rights of internally displaced adolescents. This paper describes how a United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)-supported programme (September 2000-August 2004) on the sexual and reproductive health of internally displaced adolescents contributed to restoring their dignity as a precursor to promoting their sexual and reproductive health rights. Different forms of the arts were used as basic techniques to discover their body and to provide sexual and reproductive health information and education. The arts were found to play a key role in restoring their dignity. Although dignity appeared to be a determinant of greater awareness of rights, it did not lead to increased empowerment with regard to rights. The availability of and access to sexual and reproductive health services remains a problem and displaced populations continue to have little or no power to hold their authorities accountable.     

四川凉山藏彝青少年头发中多氯联苯污染水平的研究

本研究采用索式提取-气相色谱-质谱(GC-MS)分析了39份来自四川省凉山州藏族、彝族青少年(11~19岁)头发样品中的12种类二英多氯联苯(DL-PCBs)的浓度水平及其同族体组成,并分析了其浓度与民族、食肉和饮奶习惯及性别的相关性.结果表明,头发样品中PCBs的检出率为100%,DL-PCBs的总含量为(102.2±14.3)pg·g-1,含量范围9.6~991.6pg·g-1,表明该地区受到DL-PCBs的污染程度较轻.PCB-77、PCB-105、PCB-118为主要单体,占ΣDL-PCBs的84.7%.凉山州彝族青少年头发样品中的PCBs浓度显著高于藏族,且其浓度与每周食肉、饮奶频次具有相关性(P0.05),表明通过饮食摄取的PCBs可能是造成浓度差异的原因之一.该地区藏、彝青少年女性发样中PCBs浓度显著高于男性(P0.05).     

Risky behaviors and helmet use among young adolescent motorcyclists in Southern Thailand

Background: In Thailand, road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for youth ages 15–19 years, with 80% of the injuries and deaths from motorcycle accidents. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of child and young adolescent motorcyclists in Hat Yai municipality and their risk behaviors. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted between June 2011 and March 2012 in which 2,471 students, ages 8 to 18 years, were recruited from 9 primary and secondary schools in Hat Yai municipality. The questionnaire included questions on being a motorcycle rider or passenger, risky behaviors, and helmet use while riding. Results: Of the total, 1,573 (63.7%) were riders and 898 (36.3%) were pillion passengers. The majority of the riders younger than 15 years rode their motorcycle mainly only in narrow streets for a short trip. Only 30% of the riders wore a helmet every time they rode a motorcycle. About 10% of the participants riding or a passenger on a motorcycle had consumed alcohol at least once before riding their motorcycle. Multiple logistic regression analysis found that motorcycle injuries were significantly associated with speeds greater than 60 km/h, not wearing a helmet while riding, and alcohol consumption before riding (odds ratios 1.63, 1.59, and 3.09, respectively). Conclusion: Nearly two thirds of young adolescents in Hat Yai municipality were motorcycle riders. These young adolescents were at risk of traffic injuries because more than 50% of them had ridden at high speed or not worn a helmet while riding, and some of them had consumed alcohol before riding.     

The relationship of place to substance use and perceptions of risk and safety in urban adolescents

Geographic and substance use data were collected from 301 urban adolescents to compare the perceived and observed risk and safety associated with their home and activity space locations (routine locations). The geographic characteristics of the neighborhood surrounding each location was summarized according to features theorized to be risky, such as criminal activity and alcohol sales, and features theorized to be safe, such as recreation centers and churches. Data on socioeconomic status, derived from U.S. Bureau of the Census data, were also used to characterize locations. Adolescents' homes were typically perceived as safe despite observed measures of risk such as density of crimes and proximity to alcohol outlets. This held for both substance users and non-users. Differences in geographic characteristics for safe and risky activity spaces were observed for both substance users and non-users, with non-users appearing to be more sensitive to the presence of risky characteristics in the environment than substance users. Results highlight the need and provide a methodology to collect fine-grained activity space data instead of relying only on home residence when attempting to represent place and health behaviors with urban youth.     

Connectedness, social support and internalising emotional and behavioural problems in adolescents displaced by the Chechen conflict

The study investigated factors associated with internalising emotional and behavioural problems among adolescents displaced during the most recent Chechen conflict. A cross-sectional survey (N=183) examined relationships between social support and connectedness with family, peers and community in relation to internalising problems. Levels of internalising were higher in displaced Chechen youth compared to published norms among non-referred youth in the United States and among Russian children not affected by conflict. Girls demonstrated higher problem scores compared to boys. Significant inverse correlations were observed between family, peer and community connectedness and internalising problems. In multivariate analyses, family connectedness was indicated as a significant predictor of internalising problems, independent of age, gender, housing status and other forms of support evaluated. Sub-analyses by gender indicated stronger protective relationships between family connectedness and internalising problems in boys. Results indicate that family connectedness is an important protective factor requiring further exploration by gender in war-affected adolescents.     

Levels of selected urinary metabolites of volatile organic compounds in a representative sample of US adolescents

Data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for the years 2011–2012 were used to evaluate the variability in the observed levels of 20 urinary metabolites of 16 parent volatile organic compounds by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and smoking status for adolescents aged 12–19 years. Smokers were found to have statistically significantly higher adjusted levels than nonsmokers for selected urinary metabolites of acrylonitrile (p < 0.05) and 1,3-butadiene (p < 0.05). For example, for N-Acetyl-S-(2-cyanoethyl)-L-cysteine, the adjusted levels for smokers were 29.2 ng/mL and 2.0 ng/mL for nonsmokers (p < 0.05). Females were found to have higher adjusted levels of selected metabolites of crotonaldehyde (p < 0.05), cyanide (p < 0.05), and tetrachloroethylene (p < 0.05) than males. For example, the adjusted levels of 2-Aminothiazoline-4-carboxylic acid or ATCA were 218.9 and 108.6 ng/mL for females and males, respectively (p < 0.05). Non-Hispanic whites (NHW) had higher adjusted levels than non-Hispanic blacks (NHB) for selected metabolites of N,N-dimethylformamide (p < 0.05) and ethylbenzene, styrene (p < 0.05). For example, for N-Acetyl-S-(N-methylcarbamoyl)-L-cysteine or AMCC, the adjusted levels for NHW and NHB were 122.7 and 80.2 ng/mL, respectively (p < 0.05). The reverse was true for selected metabolites of carbon-disulfide and tetrachloroethylene. For example, for N-Acetyl-S-(benzyl)-L-cysteine or BMA, adjusted levels for NHW and NHB were 6.7 and 10.3 ng/mL, respectively (p < 0.05).     

Beliefs about the environment: moving from the egocentric towards the ecocentric perspective

Our behaviour towards the environment depends on our beliefs about the environment. Beliefs, however, are a subject of change, particularly during important life transitions such as the transition to adolescence, because this is a period when an individual develops the ability of complex and abstract reasoning. Understanding this transition is therefore crucial for understanding and predicting the attitudes and courses of action in terms of sustainable development later in life. Due to many methodological constraints, the number of empirical studies examining these issues is very limited; the current study aimed to collect empirical data to explore the origins of our beliefs about the environment-related issues. We devised a picture association test and used it to compare children’s and adolescents’ beliefs about our environment in the context of the means of transportation. A large sample of 2264 participants aged 6–18 years took part in the study. The data supported the claim that children’s beliefs about environment share egocentric properties. The findings represent an important puzzle into the whole picture of children’s thinking and offer us great insight into the origins of beliefs about environment-related questions in adults. Educational implications are addressed.     

The Influence of Media Use on Environmental Engagement: A Political Socialization Approach

Current research suggests that the media play an important part in informing and engaging citizens in environmental issues. Building on these findings, this study adopts a political socialization approach to citizens' involvement in everyday-life pro-environmental behavior. Multivariate analysis of recent survey data from Swedish adolescents (N = 1148) demonstrates direct as well as indirect relationships between frequency of news media use, talk about environmental issues with parents and peers, and extent of pro-environmental behavior. The findings are consistent with the notion that news media use promotes behavior by raising awareness of environmental issues. The results are also discussed in terms of a citizen-communication framework according to which interpersonal communication translates environmental information gleaned from news sources to adolescents' everyday-life reality, thereby motivating pro-environmental behavior. Future directions for examining causal mechanisms in more detail are discussed.