Relations between temperamental fear and risky pedestrian behavior

Jiabin Shen; Leslie A McClure; David C Schwebel

doi:10.1016/j.aap.2015.04.011

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Relations between temperamental fear and risky pedestrian behavior

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Relations between temperamental fear and risky pedestrian behavior

Jiabin Shen, Leslie A McClure and David C Schwebel

Accident analysis and prevention, Vol.80, pp.178-184

07/01/2015

DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2015.04.011

PMCID: PMC10402914

PMID: 25912314

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https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10402914/pdf/nihms-1919062.pdfView

Open Access

Abstract

Child pedestrian injury poses a significant global public health challenge. This study examines relations between temperamental fear and children's risky pedestrian behavior, utilizing mediation analytic strategies to study underlying mechanisms of the hypothesized relation. As part of a larger study, 240 seven- and eight-year-old children completed 30 crossings in a virtual reality (VR) pedestrian environment. Three pedestrian behaviors were considered: start gap (lag after a traffic gap appears before child initiates crossing into the gap), time to contact (TTC; gap between avatar and the lead oncoming vehicle), and hits (collisions with vehicles in simulated crossings). Temperamental fear was measured by parent report. Fearful children were more likely to be struck by virtual vehicles, and the relation between fear and risky pedestrian behaviors was mediated by start gap and TTC. Specifically, children who were temperamentally more fearful were more likely to hesitate before initiating crossing, which led to shorter gaps between themselves and the oncoming vehicle, hence causing them to be more likely to be hit by virtual vehicles. Gender interacted with fear, such that fearful girls were most likely to be hit. Both temperamental fear and gender influenced the risk of child pedestrian injuries. Delayed entry into traffic and shorter gaps between children and oncoming vehicles may underlie this relation. Future research should explore how these factors might influence the effectiveness of prevention programs.

Accidents, Traffic

Child

Distance Perception

Fear

Female

Humans

Male

Pedestrians

Risk-Taking

Safety

Temperament

Time Perception

User-Computer Interface

Details

Title: Subtitle: Relations between temperamental fear and risky pedestrian behavior
Creators: Jiabin Shen - University of Alabama at Birmingham
Leslie A McClure - University of Alabama at Birmingham
David C Schwebel - University of Alabama at Birmingham
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Accident analysis and prevention, Vol.80, pp.178-184
DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2015.04.011
PMID: 25912314
PMCID: PMC10402914
NLM abbreviation: Accid Anal Prev
ISSN: 0001-4575
eISSN: 1879-2057
Grant note: R01HD058573 / NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD058573 / NICHD NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 07/01/2015
Academic Unit: Research Administration
Record Identifier: 9984949180102771

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