TY - JOUR
T1 - The roles of gender, age and cognitive development in children's pedestrian route selection
AU - Barton, B. K.
AU - Ulrich, T.
AU - Lyday, B.
PY - 2012/3
Y1 - 2012/3
N2 - Objective Thousands of American children under the age of 10 years are injured annually as pedestrians. Despite the scope of this public health problem, knowledge about behavioural control and developmental factors involved in the aetiology of child pedestrian safety is limited. The present study examined the roles of gender, age and two aspects of cognitive development (visual search and efficiency of processing) in children's safe pedestrian route selection. Methods Measures of cognitive functioning (visual search and efficiency) and selections of risky pedestrian routes were collected from 65 children aged 5-9 years. Results Boys, younger children and those with less developed cognitive functioning selected riskier pedestrian routes. Cognitive functioning also subsumed age as a predictor of risky route selections. Conclusions Our findings suggest developmental differences, specifically less developed cognitive functioning, play important roles in children's pedestrian decision making. Directions for future examination are discussed.
AB - Objective Thousands of American children under the age of 10 years are injured annually as pedestrians. Despite the scope of this public health problem, knowledge about behavioural control and developmental factors involved in the aetiology of child pedestrian safety is limited. The present study examined the roles of gender, age and two aspects of cognitive development (visual search and efficiency of processing) in children's safe pedestrian route selection. Methods Measures of cognitive functioning (visual search and efficiency) and selections of risky pedestrian routes were collected from 65 children aged 5-9 years. Results Boys, younger children and those with less developed cognitive functioning selected riskier pedestrian routes. Cognitive functioning also subsumed age as a predictor of risky route selections. Conclusions Our findings suggest developmental differences, specifically less developed cognitive functioning, play important roles in children's pedestrian decision making. Directions for future examination are discussed.
KW - Children
KW - Cognitive development
KW - Developmental differences
KW - Pedestrian route selection
KW - Pedestrian safety
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84856548922&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2010.01202.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2010.01202.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 21299593
AN - SCOPUS:84856548922
SN - 0305-1862
VL - 38
SP - 280
EP - 286
JO - Child: Care, Health and Development
JF - Child: Care, Health and Development
IS - 2
ER -