Predictors of unintentional injuries to school-age children seen in pediatric primary care

Objective: To identify predictors of unintentional injury to school-age chi ldren seen in pediatric primary care. Methods: Members of a managed health care system (295 children ages 5-11 ye ars and their mothers) participated. We used Time 1 measures of child, mate rnal, and family functioning and health care utilization to predict rates o f unintentional child injury for the following year. Multiple regression an alyses were performed to identify variables contributing to prospective inj ury rates. Results: The final regression model included eight Time 1 variables and acc ounted for 21% of the variance in Time 2 injury rates. Significant predicto rs of increased injury liability were younger child age, more children at h ome, child behavior problems, child social competence, three indices of red uced child health, and maternal anxiety. Conclusions: We discuss the utility of these predictors for pediatric psych ologists in targeting primary care preventive interventions to families at risk for unintentional child injury.