Elaborating a conceptual model of young children's risk of unintentional injury and implications for prevention strategies

Abstract

Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for young children. Although much research has identified risk factors for injury, integrating these findings into conceptual models that can guide prevention efforts has been limited. In this paper, we draw on empirical evidence to develop a conceptual model of injury risk and highlight the important role that causal attributions play in explaining parents’ decisions about whether or not to implement safety practices to prevent childhood injury. Implications of the model for injury-prevention programming are discussed.

Keywords:

• unintentional injury
• children
• parents
• conceptualisation
• causal attributions

Acknowledgements

Preparation of this manuscript was supported by awards from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (first author) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (second author). Reprint requests can be sent to the first author at the Psychology Department, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1 or [email protected].