THE INFLUENCE OF PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP ON YOUNG ADOLESCENTS USE OF SAFETY EQUIPMENT - THE NORWEGIAN LONGITUDINAL HEALTH BEHAVIOR STUDY

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the extent to wh ich the parent-child relationship, as perceived by young adolescents a t age 13, may account for the use of various types of safety equipment at age 13 and 14 in terms of seat belts, bicycle helmets, motorcycle helmets when passenger, reflectors on the clothing when outside in the dark, and lifejackets when on board small boats. Parental influence w as assessed in terms of three scales: Parental support, parental monit oring of the youngsters, and opposition towards the parents, with sati sfactory internal consistencies (alphas >0.78). The results showed tha t each of the three constructs significantly accounted for an independ ent portion of the variance in the use of safety equipment measures. I n sum they accounted for 20% of the variance in the use of safety equi pment at age 13, and about 10% at age 14. The findings are discussed w ith regard to the implications for accident prevention measures aimed at young people.