FACTORS INFLUENCING EXPOSURE OF CHILDREN TO MAJOR HAZARDS ON FAMILY FARMS

On family farms, patents are usually knowledgeable of high-risk activi ties, yet they allow their children to be active participants in (or b ystanders to) hazardous work for reasons not well-documented. A two-ph ase descriptive study, based on the theory of planned behavior and usi ng mail surrey research methods, was carried out to understand factors that influence parents' decisions to expose children to major hazards on family farms. A representative sample of 1,255 Wisconsin dairy far m fathers provided data about factors that influence their decisions t o expose children younger than 14 years to risks of injury. Multivaria te analyses revealed that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived c ontrol accounted for to three-fourths of the variance in fathers' beha vioural intentions. Fathers' attitudes were stronger predictors of beh avioral intentions than subjective norms (i.e., perceived social press ure) or perceived control. Grandparents and mothers exerted a limited influence. Other groups, such as health care providers, 4-H, Future Fa rmers of America, and insurers, exerted only a modest influence on fat hers' feelings of social pressure. Few demographic characteristics of the family or farm were predictive of fathers' intentions to expose ch ildren to hazards.