A DEVELOPMENTAL EXPLORATION OF EXPECTATIONS FOR AND BELIEFS ABOUT PREVENTING BICYCLE COLLISION INJURIES

Investigated developmental and gender-related trends in 2nd, 5th, and 8th graders', undergraduates', and adults' reactions to simulated bicy cle collisions. Recently, scientists have called for exploration of th e developmental mechanisms that underlie childhood injury. Our laborat ory has, in three separate studies, demonstrated age-related decreases in beliefs about the negative consequences of bicycle collision. Thes e developmental decreases in the expected seriousness of outcome paral lel age-related increases in injury risk. The present study examined t wo alternative explanations for cognitive differences that might be re lated to increased risk for bicycle injury with increasing age. Contra ry to predictions, however, age and gender were unrelated to subjects' expectations for whether a collision would take place, be actively av oided, or fail to take place. Similarly, age and gender were unrelated to whether subjects believed they could remain safe, that safety equi pment (e.g., helmets) would keep them safe, or that different behavior would keep them safe. Results fail to support these expectations and beliefs as alternative explanations to developmental and gender-relate d trends in bicycle injuries, and indirectly suggest the importance of children's beliefs about the seriousness of injury as a contributer t o injury risk behavior.