Do mother-child conversations about safety differ in middle- and low-income families?

Elizabeth E O'Neal; Jodie M Plumert

doi:10.5249/jivr.v11i2.1093

Back

Do mother-child conversations about safety differ in middle- and low-income families?

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Do mother-child conversations about safety differ in middle- and low-income families?

Elizabeth E O'Neal and Jodie M Plumert

Journal of injury and violence research, Vol.11(2), pp.171-178

07/2019

DOI: 10.5249/jivr.v11i2.1093

PMCID: PMC6646833

PMID: 31056535

Files and links (1)

url

https://doi.org/10.5249/jivr.v11i2.1093View

Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Children from low-income families experience a disproportionate number of unintentional injuries compared to their middle-income peers. Parents are well positioned to teach children about avoiding injury, yet little is known about parent-child safety conversations in low-income families. This study examined to what extent mother-child safety conversations differ between low- and middle-income families. Mothers and their 8- to 10-year-old children from low- and middle-income families discussed and rated the safety of photos showing another child engaged in potentially dangerous activities. Dyads disagreed over safety ratings on a third of trials, and both middle- and low-income mothers were highly successful in resolving disagreements in their favor. Middle-income mothers justified their ratings by referring to almost twice as many dangerous features than outcomes, whereas low-income mothers generated roughly equal numbers of dangerous features and outcomes. Middle-income children did not differ in their references to dangerous features and outcomes, but low-income children focused heavily on dangerous outcomes relative to dangerous features. Describing how middle- and low-income families discuss safety is a first step in understanding whether similarities and differences contribute to how middle- and low-income children evaluate and navigate potentially dangerous situations.

Safety

Adult

Child

Communication

Female

Humans

Income

Male

Mother-Child Relations

Poverty

Social Class

Wounds and Injuries - prevention & control

Details

Title: Subtitle: Do mother-child conversations about safety differ in middle- and low-income families?
Creators: Elizabeth E O'Neal - University of Iowa, Psychological and Brain Sciences
Jodie M Plumert - University of Iowa, Psychological and Brain Sciences
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of injury and violence research, Vol.11(2), pp.171-178
DOI: 10.5249/jivr.v11i2.1093
PMID: 31056535
PMCID: PMC6646833
NLM abbreviation: J Inj Violence Res
ISSN: 2008-2053
eISSN: 2008-4072
Language: English
Date published: 07/2019
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences; Driving Safety Research Institute; Injury Prevention Research Center
Record Identifier: 9984217350102771

Metrics

18 Record Views