Gender differences in children's outdoor play injuries: A review and an integration

doi:10.1016/0272-7358(90)90057-H

Clinical Psychology Review

Volume 10, Issue 2, 1990, Pages 187-205

https://doi.org/10.1016/0272-7358(90)90057-H Get rights and content

Abstract

Injuries are the leading cause of death for children. This review integrates the epidemiological literature on children's injury rates and the behavioral correlates of children's injuries with the psychological literature on gender based behavioral differences in children and parenting differences based on child gender. Boys are more likely to experience most kinds of injuries and are more likely to be involved in behaviors that are highly correlated with injury. Common parenting strategies may also be associated with an increase in boys' injury risk. Understanding the mechanism of boys' increased risk is a vital task that may ultimately prevent injuries in both boys and girls.

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Head trauma accounts for a large proportion of unpowered scooter injuries in children. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of considerable mortality and morbidity in children, who are the main users of unpowered scooters. The aim of this study was to explore the characteristics of unpowered scooter injuries in children and to identify predictors of the occurrence of TBI.
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The annual rate of unpowered scooter injuries per 1,000 injured patients increased throughout the study period from 1.4 in 2011 to 16.4 in 2018 (P for trend < 0.001). Of the 3,892 children who had unpowered scooter injuries, 353 (9.2 %) had TBI. Children were at a higher risk of unpowered scooter TBI if they were aged between 2 and 5 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.37; 95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.09–1.73), were male (aOR: 1.45; 95 % CI: 1.14–1.86), were injured either on sidewalks (aOR: 1.80; 95 % CI: 1.20–2.70) or on driveways (aOR: 2.31; 95 % CI: 1.41–3.79), and experienced a fall (aOR: 1.98; 95 % CI: 1.15–3.43). Additionally, children injured after a blunt force were at a lower risk of TBI (aOR: 0.28; 95 % CI: 0.15–0.53).
Unpowered scooter injuries in children are increasing in South Korea. It is essential for younger children riding unpowered scooters to wear helmets and for caregivers to actively supervise their children to prevent TBI.
Variations in booster seat use by child characteristics
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Citation Excerpt :
Because of our use of a small convenience sample, we did not explore differences across individual child characteristics. Child behavior research in other contexts (e.g., playgrounds) has found several child-level variables related to higher injury risks (Hoffrage et al., 2003; Vollrath, Landolt, & Ribi, 2003; Schwebel & Plumert, 2013), including being a boy (Schwebel & Gaines, 2007; Rosen & Peterson, 1990), and having learning disabilities or a diagnosis of ADHD (Merrill et al., 2009; Brehaut et al., 2003; DiScala et al., 1998). Despite this evidence, little work has been done to connect how these child-level factors may influence a child passenger’s injury risk in MVCs.
Child weight and height are the basis of manufacturer and best practice guidelines for child restraint system use. However, these guides do not address behavioral differences among children of similar age, weight, and height, which may result in child-induced restraint use errors. The objective of this study was to characterize child behaviors across age in relation to appropriate restraint system use during simulated drives. Methods: Fifty mother–child (4–8 years) dyads completed an installation into a driving simulator, followed by a simulated drive that was video-recorded and coded for child-induced errors. Time inappropriately restrained was measured as the total amount of the simulated drive spent in an improper or unsafe position for the restraint to be effective divided by the total drive time. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to determine differences across age in the frequency of error events and overall time inappropriately restrained. Results: Children in harnessed seats had no observed errors during trips. Within children sitting in booster seats there were differences in time inappropriately restrained across age (p = 0.01), with 4 year-olds spending on average 67% (Median = 76%) of the drive inappropriately restrained, compared to the rest of the age categories spending less than 28% (Medians ranged from 3% to 23%). Conclusion: Some children may be physically compatible with booster seats, but not behaviorally mature enough to safely use them. More research is needed that examines how child behavior influences child passenger safety. Practical Applications: Not all children physically big enough are behaviorally ready to use belt positioning booster seats. Primary sources of information should provide caregivers with individualized guidance about when it is appropriate to transition children out of harnessed seats. Additionally, best practice guidelines should be updated to reflect what behaviors are needed from children to safely use specific types of child restraint systems.
Understanding clusters of risk factors across different environmental and social contexts for the prediction of injuries among Canadian youth
2016, Injury
Citation Excerpt :
Potential confounders that have been previously established as independent risk factors for injury were extracted. These included age [20,21], sex [22–24], perceived level of affluence compared to peers (well-off, average, not well-off) [25], immigration status (immigrated within 1–5 years, more than five years, born in Canada) [26,27], depressed (yes, no) [28], overall health status (high, average, low) [29], being physically bullied (often, sometimes, never) [30,31], living in a foster home (yes, no) [32,33], sedentary behaviour (≥5 h per day, 3–4 h per day, ≤2 h per day) [34], and participation in organized sport (yes, no) [35]. Principal components analysis–identifying clusters of risk-taking behaviours.
Among Canadian youth, injury is the most common reason for presentation to the emergency department. Youth who commonly engage in multiple risk-taking behaviours are at greater risk for injury, but is it unknown if this phenomenon is more pronounced in different contexts. We aimed to study relationships between risk-taking behaviours and injury, and variations in such relationships between different environmental and social contexts, among youth in Canada.
Risk-taking behaviour and injury outcome data were collected from grade 9 to 10 students using the 2009–2010 (Cycle 6) of the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Survey (n = 10,429). Principal components analysis was used to identify clusters of risk-taking behaviours. Within each identified cluster, the degree of risk-taking was categorized into quartiles from lowest to highest engagement in the behaviours. Risk ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated to determine the association between the risk of any injury and the degree of risk-taking behaviour specific to the cluster. Clusters were then examined across home, school, neighbourhood and sport contexts.
Four clusters of risk-taking behaviour were identified which were labelled as “gateway substance use”, “hard drugs and weapons”, “overt risk-taking”, and “physical activity”. Each cluster was related to injury occurrence in a graded fashion. Clusters of risk behaviour were most strongly associated with injuries sustained in neighbourhood settings, and expectedly, increasing physical activity behaviours were associated with increased risk of sport injuries and injuries occurring at school.
This study furthers understanding of clustered risk-taking phenomena that put youth at increasing levels of injury risk. Higher risks for injury and associated gradients were observed in less structured contexts such as neighbourhoods. In contrast, clustered physical activity behaviours were most related to school injury or sport injury and were more likely to be sustained in a supervised context. Understanding the clustered and cumulative nature of risk-behaviours, and how these vary by environmental and social context, helps to explain potential mechanisms of injury as well as modifiable factors that may be important avenues for intervention.
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The Development of Working Memory: Sex Differences in Accuracy and Reaction Times
2023, Journal of Cognition and Development
The effect of birth order on length of hospitalization for pediatric traumatic brain injury: an analysis of the 1987 Finnish birth cohort
2022, Archives of Public Health

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^☆: This article was based on a master's thesis presented to the Department of Psychology, University of Missouri-Columbia.

View full text

Gender differences in children's outdoor play injuries: A review and an integration☆

Abstract

Pediatric Clinics of North America

Journal of Pediatrics

New Zealand Medical Journal

Child cyclist injuries: A prospective study

The Medical Journal of Australia

Gender stereotypes: Traditions and alternatives

The injury fact book

A comparative study of accident-repeater and accident-free pupils

Differential premises arising from differential socialization of the sexes: Some conjectures

Child Development

Sex role identity and ego development

Table V. Years of potential life lost, deaths, and death rates, by cause of death, and estimated number of physician contacts, by principal diagnosis,

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

Children's influence strategies: Structure, sex differences, and bilateral mother-child influence

Child Development

Childhood household safety: An overview

American Journal of Diseases of Children

Drowning: Epidemiology and prevention

American Journal of Public Health

Sex differences in human motor activity level

Psychological Bulletin

Sex differences in toddlers' behavior and parental reaction

Developmental Psychology

The influence of sex of child on parental reactions to toddler children

Child Development

Adult responses to young children in risky situations

Merrill-Palmer Quarterly

An analysis of roller skating injuries

The American Journal of Sports Medicine

Injury-prone children

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry

The incidence of injuries among 87,000 Massachusetts children and adolescents: Results of the 1980–1981 statewide childhood injury prevention program

American Journal of Public Health

Child psychopathology and development

Sex differences in children's risk-taking behavior

Child Development

Advances in the epidemiology of injuries as a basis for public policy

Public Health Reports

Injury control

200 injuries caused by playground equipment

British Medical Journal

Sex-typing behavior and sex-typing pressure in child/parent interaction

Archives of Sexual Behavior

Fireworks injuries: 1981

Mortality and morbidity from injuries in sports and recreation

Annual Review of Public Health

Pilot study of childhood accidents: Preliminary report

Pediatrics

The “accident prone” child —the perpetration of a myth

Australian Paediatric Journal

Injuries in the tenth and eleventh years of life

Australian Paediatric Journal

Child behavior and accidents

Journal of Pediatric Psychology

Injuries in the eighth and ninth years of life

Australian Paediatric Journal

Sex differences in the games children play

Social Problems

Childhood burns reconsidered: The child, the family, and the burn injury

The Journal of Trauma

Social development: Psychological growth and the parent-child relationship

Gender as a social category

Developmental Psychology

The psychology of sex differences

Personality characteristics of the child accident repeater

Child Development