Supervision of young children in parking lots: Impact on child pedestrian safety

Introduction: Pedestrian injuries are a significant pediatric public health concern worldwide. Younger children are at particular risk for pedestrian injuries in parking lots, but there is limited research regarding children's pedestrian behaviors in parking lots. Method: This study examined children's behaviors and safety risks in parking lots through unobtrusive and unannounced observation of 124 children ages 2–10 years and their adult supervisors as they crossed a parking lot from their parked vehicle into a community recreation center. Results: Adult supervision was inadequate: over 67% of children 10 years of age and younger were unsupervised in the parking lot at some point between the vehicle parking and the child entering into the building. Approximately 90% of all children were outside of arm's length of the accompanying adult at some point while in the parking lot. Additionally, children exited the vehicle prior to the adult in over 50% of observations. Age was associated with safety risk, with older children being unsupervised more often than younger ones. Conclusions: Adult supervision of children in a parking lot setting was poor, creating significant safety risks. In addition, many children failed to follow basic pedestrian safety practices themselves, such as looking for moving cars. Injury prevention strategies should be implemented. Practical applications: As researchers gain better understanding about the safety risks for children in parking lots, interventions could target adult and child behaviors through improved supervision, altered perception of risk, and mandated behavioral guidelines for child behavior, such as how and when children exit vehicles in parking lots.     

Actual and perceived social norms of children’s road crossing behavior

This study compared the actual and perceived social norms regarding road crossing behaviors, and aimed at uncovering a misperception of group norms. The basic notion underlying the study was that if children perceived the behaviors and attitudes of their friends regarding road crossing as more negative than they actually are, this might lead the children to adopt riskier behavior when crossing the road. The participants were comprised of 123 elementary school children (ages from 6 to 13; 78 boys - 65% and 42 girls - 35%) from Beitar-Ilit, a religious city in Israel. A questionnaire especially constructed for the study was administered to the participants. A t-test yielded a significant difference between the child’s own attitudes score and the perceived peers’ attitudes score. On average, children perceive their friends’ attitudes with regard to road crossing behaviors as being more negative compared to their own attitudes. A second t-test yielded a significant difference between the child’s own behavior score and the perceived peers’ behavior score. Children perceived the road crossing behavior of their friends as riskier relative to their own crossing behavior. A regression test revealed that the variables, perceived peers’ attitudes and perceived peers’ behaviors, contributed significantly to the explained variance: the more risky the perceived peers’ attitudes and behaviors with regard to road crossing, the more risky the child’s own behavior when crossing the road. It is hoped that an interventional educational program based on positive norms in the social group will encourage children to exhibit safe behavior in the roads.     

Fathers' work experiences effect children's behaviors via job-related affect and parenting behaviors

We suggest that fathers' work experiences (decision latitude, job demands, job insecurity and interrole conflict) indirectly influence children's behaviors (acting out, shyness and school competence) through their sequential effects on job-related affect (job satisfaction, negative job-related mood and job tension) and parenting behaviors (punishing, rejecting and authoritative behaviors). Data on work experiences, job-related affect and parenting behaviors were obtained from 189 fathers; teachers provided ratings of the children's behaviors. Path analysis provided support for the proposed model. Conceptual implications and suggestions for future research on fathers' employment and the links between work and family are discussed.     

Factors affecting pedestrian behaviors at signalized crosswalks: An empirical study

Introduction: Safety of pedestrians depends, among other factors, on their behavior while crossing the road. This study aims to assess behaviors of pedestrians at signalized crosswalks. Method: Following a literature review and a pilot study, 25 vital pedestrian crossing factors and behaviors were determined. Then data was randomly collected for 708 pedestrians at 10 lighted crossings in Sharjah (UAE), five at road intersections and five mid-block crossings. Results: Results indicated that 17.4% of pedestrians observed crossed partly or fully on red and that crossing speed was 1.22 m/s, on the average, which is slightly faster than most speeds recorded in the literature. Moreover, female pedestrians were more likely to cross while chatting with others, less likely to cross on red, and more likely to walk slower than male pedestrians. Results also showed that pedestrians who crossed at road intersections walked slower than those who crossed at mid-block crossings. It was also found that longer red pedestrian times and narrower roads tended to encourage pedestrians to cross on red and that the majority of pedestrians did not look around before crossing. Practical implications: Use of the Health Belief Model for pedestrian safety are discussed.     

How do children learn to cross the street? The process of pedestrian safety training

Objective: Pedestrian injuries are a leading cause of child death and may be reduced by training children to cross streets more safely. Such training is most effective when children receive repeated practice at the complex cognitive–perceptual task of judging moving traffic and selecting safe crossing gaps, but there is limited data on how much practice is required for children to reach adult levels of functioning. Using existing data, we examined how children's pedestrian skills changed over the course of 6 pedestrian safety training sessions, each composed of 45 crossings within a virtual pedestrian environment.

Methods: As part of a randomized controlled trial on pedestrian safety training, 59 children ages 7–8 crossed the street within a semi-immersive virtual pedestrian environment 270 times over a 3-week period (6 sessions of 45 crossings each). Feedback was provided after each crossing, and traffic speed and density were advanced as children's skill improved. Postintervention pedestrian behavior was assessed a week later in the virtual environment and compared to adult behavior with identical traffic patterns.

Results: Over the course of training, children entered traffic gaps more quickly and chose tighter gaps to cross within; their crossing efficiency appeared to increase. By the end of training, some aspects of children's pedestrian behavior was comparable to adult behavior but other aspects were not, indicating that the training was worthwhile but insufficient for most children to achieve adult levels of functioning.

Conclusions: Repeated practice in a simulated pedestrian environment helps children learn aspects of safe and efficient pedestrian behavior. Six twice-weekly training sessions of 45 crossings each were insufficient for children to reach adult pedestrian functioning, however, and future research should continue to study the trajectory and quantity of child pedestrian safety training needed for children to become competent pedestrians.     

Social norms of accompanied young children and observed crossing behaviors

Introduction

Social norms for accompanied young children and crossing behaviors were examined in two studies conducted in an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Israel.

Method

In Study 1, road behaviors of young children crossing with and without accompaniment and older children were observed, and the actual social norm for accompanied school children younger than 9-years-old was examined. In Study 2, the perceived norm of accompaniment was tested by questionnaires.

Results

Young children who crossed without accompaniment exhibited poorer crossing skills compared to older children and to young children crossing with accompaniment. In the four locations observed, the actual accompaniment rate ranged between 15%-60%. The perceived social norm for child accompaniment was lower than the actual norm.

Conclusions

The discussion refers to both theoretical issues and their practical implications.     

The effects of co-presence on risk perception and intention to engage in risky behaviors

IntroductionThis study investigated the relation between co-presence and bicyclists' riding behavior. We assumed that the presence of peer riders would either facilitate or inhibit risky behaviors depending on bicyclists' perceptions of three traffic contexts conducive to risk taking (i.e., red-light, go straight, and turn to left).MethodYoung bicyclists (N = 207) were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions (alone vs. with peers). They filled in a scenario-based questionnaire about their intentions to adopt risky behaviors in three specific traffic situations as well as their risk perception of these situations and their general self-perceived efficacy as a bicyclist. We hypothesized that the presence of peer riders engaged in a risky behavior will facilitate the intention to adopt risky behaviors in situations where group risk is evaluated as lower than individual risk. In opposition, the presence of peer riders engaged in a risky behavior will inhibit the intention to adopt risky behaviors in situations where group risk is evaluated as higher than individual risk.ResultsThe results confirmed the hypotheses.Practical ApplicationsThe findings offer insights for developing new effective education and intervention programs in order to reduce the frequency of dangerous behavior among bicyclists.     

Pedestrian crossing behaviors at uncontrolled multi-lane mid-block crosswalks in developing world

IntroductionThe gap acceptance theory was primarily used to study pedestrian crossing behaviors, in accordance to static gaps that are calculated in the light of the cross section of crosswalk. However, pedestrians will face a series of dynamic gaps (especially at any uncontrolled multi-lane crosswalk) when they decide to cross the street, thus, pedestrians' decisions are made based on the dynamic gaps of each lane.MethodPedestrians' crossing behaviors at uncontrolled multi-lane mid-block crosswalk were investigated in this study. The lane-based gap (LGAP) was defined and five mid-block crosswalks were selected for observation in Wuhan, China. Pedestrians' behaviors and the corresponding traffic statuses were videoed as collected data, whose statistical analysis indicates that most pedestrians choose the rolling gap crossing strategy, which is different from existing research. Moreover, a logistic regression model was established to evaluate various influencing parameters (such as gender, age, waiting time and traffic volume) on the pedestrians' crossing strategy, whose accuracy is not satisfying. Therefore, the pedestrian dynamic gap acceptance (PDGA) model was put forward to describe pedestrians' crossing behaviors at any multi-lane crosswalk based on detailed analysis of the pedestrians' decision procedure.ResultsThe corresponding results show that its accuracy may be up to 88.6% to well describe pedestrians' crossing behaviors.ConclusionsThe PDGA model is appropriate to analyze pedestrians' dynamic decision procedures at multi-lane mid-block crosswalks.Practical applicationThe findings of this study can be used for safety and performance evaluation of crosswalks at mid-block locations in developing countries like China and India.     

Antecedents of intention to help mitigate wildfire: Implications for campaigns promoting wildfire mitigation to the general public in the wildland–urban interface

The current investigation sought to examine the association between knowledge of the causes of wildfire in the wildland–urban interface (WUI) and intentions on the part of members of the public to help mitigate wildfire. In doing so, antecedents from the theory of planned behavior were employed to enhance our understanding of the relationships among wildfire knowledge, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intention to help mitigate wildfire in the WUI. Participants (N = 408) living in the WUI in Appalachian Ohio were sampled as a means of conducting formative research prior to developing messages promoting wildfire mitigation. Our results reveal that, among the variables in the theory of planned behavior, the only paths that consistently explain individual’s intention to help mitigate wildland fire in the WUI in protecting both homes and the environment are associations between knowledge about wildfire and perceived behavioral control and between perceived behavioral control and intention. Our findings are discussed with a focus on message design for wildland fire mitigation professionals and a focus on implications for the theory of planned behaviors for academics with interests in wildland fire and other environmental issues.     

What does safety commitment mean to leaders? A multi-method investigation

Introduction: Perceived management safety commitment as an aspect of safety climate or culture is a key influence on safety outcomes in organizations. What is unclear is how perceptions of management commitment are created by leaders. Method: To address this gap in the literature, we position safety commitment as a leadership construct viewed from the perspectives of the leaders who experience and demonstrate it. In this paper, an established multidimensional commitment framework is applied to leaders' safety commitment (consisting of affective, normative, and calculative commitment). Via an exploratory sequential mixed methods design combining interviews (n = 40) and surveys (n = 89), we investigate the applicability of this theoretical conceptualization to safety commitment. Results: The results indicate the multiple dimensions captured leaders' safety commitment well, safety commitment can be demonstrated via a range of behaviors, and the dimensions' association with behavioral demonstrations aligned with those of other types of commitment reported in the literature. Only affective safety commitment was consistently associated with demonstrations of safety commitment. The link between high levels of affective and normative safety commitment and demonstrations was more pronounced when participants perceived their company's safety climate more positively. Conclusions: Adopting a focus on leaders' experience of safety commitment offers opportunities for new research into the way in which safety commitment perceptions are shaped by leaders. Practical application: The findings can support leaders' reflection about their personal mindset around safety and support them in fostering strong safety climates and cultures. It further encourages organizations in creating work environments that in particular foster affective and normative safety commitments in leaders.     

Pedestrian crossing behavior at midblock crosswalks

IntroductionThis study investigated the pedestrian crossing behavior at midblock crosswalks, in Istanbul. Method: Data were compiled from field studies at four selected crosswalks that were on one-way streets. Three of the crosswalks were located on three-lane streets while the other one was on a two-lane street. By using two-hour video recordings at each crosswalk, information was collected about pedestrian crossing preferences, pedestrian platoons both at curbside and during the crossing, traffic characteristics including volume, crosswalk occupancy and illegal parking, and pedestrian characteristics comprising age, gender and distraction status. These data were stratified with respect to the number of lanes and two multinomial logit models for platooning and individual crossing behavior was estimated for each stratum. Results: The results showed that the likelihood of platooning increases as the traffic volume and platoon size increase. Moreover, pedestrians who waited for little or no at the curbside and started to cross when one or more lanes were occupied generally lost time during the crossing. In terms of policy, the formation of platoons should be prevented by enforcement or demand-responsive traffic signals with push-to-walk buttons, etc. Overall, the study revealed that the presence of midblock crosswalks is questionable.     

The emergence of team helping norms: Foundations within members' attributes and behavior

This research examined the antecedents of organizational citizenship behavior helping norms in teams, specifically with regard to how members' personality, values, beliefs, and helping behavior predict the emergence of helping norms in newly formed project teams. We drew from theory on emergent phenomena and team composition research to propose and test a compilation model of how helping norms are influenced by having at least one member with particularly low (minimum) or high (maximum) levels of attributes that may influence helping‐norm development (i.e., conscientiousness, agreeableness, other‐oriented values, personal helping beliefs). We further examined the extent to which members' helping behaviors, as rated by peers, predicted helping norms and whether these behaviors mediated the relationship between individual attributes and helping norms. The results of a longitudinal study of 47 student project teams revealed that teams' minimums on agreeableness, other‐oriented values, and personal helping beliefs had direct relationships with helping‐norm emergence, and the effects of agreeableness were mediated through mean helping behavior. By contrast, teams' maximums on these attributes showed no relationships with helping norms, and only a team maximum on agreeableness was associated with teams' mean helping behavior. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gender differences in children's pedestrian behaviors: Developmental effects

IntroductionAll child pedestrians are vulnerable to road traffic injuries, but there is evidence that boys may be at greater risk than girls, at least among some age groups.MethodTo create effective intervention programs, research on how boys and girls of particular ages behave as pedestrians, and whether there are gender differences that increase risk for particular genders at particular ages, is needed. In this study, 255 boys and 235 girls in grade 1 through 6 from two primary schools in Nantong city, China, were unobtrusively videotaped when walking to school in the morning. Videotapes were reviewed and coded for seven pedestrian safety behaviors, including activities related to crossing streets (walking instead of running/hopping, observing traffic, using the crosswalk instead of walking outside the crosswalk, and keeping close to an accompanying adult) and those related to walking alongside busy streets (walking instead of running/hopping on the sidewalk, not playing on the sidewalk, walking alone instead of walking side-by-side with a partner).ResultsResults revealed that as a whole, boys played on the sidewalk more often than girls (p < 0.01) and crossed with an accompanying adult more than girls (p < 0.05), while girls walked side-by-side with partners more often than boys (p < 0.05). With a few exceptions, boys and girls in the younger grades (1–2) as well as those in the older grades (5–6) behaved fairly similarly as pedestrians, but boys and girls in the middle grades (3–4) presented with several significant gender-based differences. In the middle grades, boys watched traffic more than girls while crossing (p < 0.01); ran, hopped and played on the sidewalk more often than girls (p < 0.05); and walked side-by-side less often with partners than girls (p < 0.05). We also detected different gender-based trends in the development of pedestrian skills. With increasing age, girls performed more safely in pedestrian tasks, but boys did not show a similar developmental trend.ConclusionsWe conclude that boys and girls exhibit different characteristics in their pedestrian behaviors and discuss implications for prevention.     

The self-defensive attribution hypothesis in the work environment: Co-workers’ perspectives

The study explored the possible influences of situational, personal and non-relevant perception on causality attributions and responsibility assignment in Ghana’s work environment. Ghanaian industrial workers (co-workers) who were witnesses to industrial accidents (n = 117) assigned causality for the mishap and their responses were compared. Analyses were based on the co-workers’ responses to open-ended questions. Three categories of co-workers were identified and labelled as situationally relevant (n = 34), personally relevant (n = 43) and non-relevant co-workers (n = 40). The results showed that co-workers (witnesses) who had some perception of situational and or personal relevance with the accident victims attributed less responsibility to the accident victims than did their counterparts who had no perception of relevance. This observation, like other motivated attributional distortions, seems to reflect a tendency towards self-protection from the three categories of co-workers. It confirms the self-defensive attribution hypothesis in causal attributions about accidents in the work environment.     

The importance of individuals' repertoires of behaviors: the scientific appropriateness of studying multiple behaviors and general attitudes

This paper addresses Blau's critique of our early research on behavioral aggregates; we review the theoretical and empirical work on multiple behaviors. We address the definition and measurement of behavioral aggregates, the issue of common method variance, and factors influencing behavior choices. Research from other behavioral areas that uses an approach similar to ours is reviewed as well as relevant research on withdrawal aggregates since 1991. We argue that a focus on general withdrawal constructs rather than individual behaviors will generate significant scientific and practical advantages. The study of constructs will likely provide a basis for generalizations across situations, populations, and time. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Concussion attitudes,behaviors, and education among youth ages 12–17: Results from the 2014 YouthStyles survey

IntroductionThis study assessed young athletes' (ages 12 to 17) concussion attitudes and behaviors, particularly their self-reported experience learning about concussion and intentions to report a concussion and disparities in these experiences.MethodsWe used data from Porter Novelli's 2014 YouthStyles survey that is conducted each year to gather insights about American consumers.ResultsOf the 1,005 respondents, 57% reported sports participation. Fourteen percent reported they may have had a previous concussion, and among them 41% reported having a concussion more than once while playing sports. Males (17.7%) were significantly more likely to report having a concussion than females (10.0%; χ² (1) = 7.01, p = 0.008). Fifty-five percent of respondents reported having learned about what to do if they think they may have a concussion, and 92% reported that they would tell their coach if they thought they sustained a concussion while playing youth or high school sports. Youth from higher income families ($75,000–$124,999) were significantly more likely than youth from lower income families (less than $35,000) to report that they learned about what do if they suspected that they had a concussion.ConclusionAge of athlete, parental income level, athlete's sex, and living in a metro versus non-metro area led to disparities in athletes' concussion education. There is a need for increased access to concussion education and an emphasis on customizing concussion education efforts to meet the needs of different groups.Practical applicationWe identified athletes' self-reported previously sustained concussions and predictors of education related to concussion. Further research is needed to explore the age, gender and income gaps in concussion education among athletes.     

The effect of age and gender on motor vehicle driver injury severity at highway-rail grade crossings in the United States

IntroductionBased on the Federal Railway Administration (FRA) database, there were 25,945 highway-rail crossing accidents in the United States between 2002 and 2011. With an extensive database of highway-rail grade crossing accidents in the United States from 2002 to 2011, estimation results showed that there were substantial differences across age/gender groups for driver's injury severity.MethodThe study applied an ordered probit model to explore the determinants of driver injury severity for motor vehicle drivers at highway-rail grade crossings.ResultsThe analysis found that there are important behavioral and physical differences between male and female drivers given a highway-rail grade crossing accident happened.Practical applicationsOlder drivers have higher fatality probabilities when driving in open space under passive control especially during bad weather condition. Younger male drivers are found to be more likely to have severe injuries at rush hour with high vehicle speed passing unpaved highway-rail grade crossings under passive control. Synthesizing these results led to the conclusion that the primary problem with young is risk-taking and lack of vehicle handling skills. The strength of older drivers lies in their aversion to risk, but physical degradation issues which result in longer reaction/perception times and degradation in vision and hearing often counterbalance this attribute.     

Individualism-collectivism as an individual difference predictor of organizational citizenship behavior

Though it appears intuitively appealing that individual differences should be related to a person's decision to perform citizenship behaviors, the search for such individual differences has yet to yield clear results. In this study, data were collected to assess the extent of a relationship between individualism–collectivism as a within culture individual difference and self-reports of organizational citizenship behaviors. Results suggest that if an individual holds collectivistic values or norms, he/she would be more likely to perform citizenship behaviors. In addition, this relationship was found to be robust to common method effects and to the effect of the relationship between procedural justice and OCB. Implications for the way collectivistic tendencies within cultures may be used in organizations are discussed.     

“Like it’s wrong,but it’s not that wrong:” Exploring the normalization of risk-compensatory strategies among young drivers engaging in illegal smartphone use

Introduction: Young drivers are the most vulnerable road users and most likely to use a smartphone illegally while driving. Although when compared with drink-driving, attitudes to illegal smartphone risk are nearly identical, smartphone use among young drivers continues to increase. Method: Four in-depth focus groups were conducted with 13 young (18–25 years) drivers to gain insight into their perceptions of the risks associated with the behavior. Our aim was to determine how drivers navigate that risk and if their behavior shapes and informs perceptions of norms. Results: Three key themes emerged: (a) participants perceived illegal smartphone use as commonplace, easy, and benign; (b) self-regulatory behaviors that compensate for risk are pervasive among illegal smartphone users; and (c) risk-compensation strategies rationalize risks and perceived norms, reducing the seriousness of transgression when compared with drink-driving. Young drivers rationalized their own use by comparing their selfregulatory smartphone and driving skills with those of “bad drivers,” not law abiders. Practical Applications: These findings suggest that smartphone behaviors shape attitudes to risk, highlighting the importance for any countermeasure aimed at reducing illegal use to acknowledge how a young person’s continued engagement in illegal smartphone use is justified by the dynamic composition of use, risk assessment and the perceived norms.