School-age children's attributions about their own naturally occurring minor injuries: A process analysis

Objective: To analyze children's attribution of cause regarding their natur ally occurring minor injuries in light of the pre-injury parental acceptabi lity of children's behavior and the emotions children experienced immediate ly after the event. Method: Sixty-one 8-year-old children were interviewed biweekly for one yea r about their naturally occurring minor injuries. Participants monitored en vironmental and psychosocial elements of the injuries and later answered qu estions about the cause of the event. Results: For a total sample of 1,037 minor injuries, children most frequent ly designated fate as the primary cause. Further analysis revealed that att ributions varied by children's pre-injury behavior and post-injury feelings . Children were equally likely to accept primary responsibility or to assig n cause to fate when they were engaged in unacceptable behavior before the event. Similarly children assumed primary responsibility for the injury whe n they experienced post-injury guilt. No differences in injury attributions were revealed by gender or by the child's frequency of injuries during the year. Conclusions: Results highlight the significance of adult caregiver safety r ule creation, endorsement, and ongoing communication for the socialization of children's safe behaviors.