Protecting children: a survey of caregivers’ knowledge of Georgia’s child restraint laws

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic characteristics of study population

Demographics	Total # of participants	Total % of participants
Age	N = 163	96.4%
<20	5	3.0%
20–24	17	10.1%
25–29	40	23.7%
30–34	53	31.4%
35–40	29	17.2%
>40	19	11.2%
Education level	N = 163	96.4%
Grade school	6	3.6%
High school	31	19.0%
Technical college/associate degree	23	13.6%
Bachelor’s degree	73	43.2%
Advanced degree	30	17.8%
Ethnicity	N = 169	100%
African-American/Black	40	23.7%
American Indian	0	0%
Asian	7	4.1%
Caucasian	89	52.7%
Hispanic or Latino/Latina	27	16.0%
Other	4	2.4%
Gender	N = 167	98.8%
Male	47	27.8%
Female	120	71.0%
Primary language	N = 169	100%
English	152	89.9%
Spanish	15	8.9%
Other	1	0.6%

Table 2 Distribution of correct child restraint knowledge responses by survey item

Survey question with correct answer	Percentage correct
Georgia law requires children to be in the car seat or booster until they turn?	43.8%
6 years old
An infant should be kept rear-facing in his car seat until?	43.2%
The child turns 1 year old and weighs 20 pounds
An infant seat should be kept at what angle?	68.6%
A 45 degree angle (a little reclined)
You should replace your car seat if?	89.3%
All of the above [has been in a crash, is over 6 years old, has broken or missing parts]
Georgia law requires children under age 6 to ride … ?	98.2%
In the back seat
Where should the harness retainer clip be on the child?	58.6%
At the child’s armpit level
When your child has reached 40 pounds, what type of seat should he use?	55.6%
A booster seat
A child should use a car seat with a 5-point harness until … ?	55.0%
He has reached the upper weight limit for the seat
Is it a good idea to buy a used car seat?	93.5%
No, the seat might not be safe
How do you know if the harness is tight enough?	29.6%
The straps lie snug on the child’s body and you can’t pinch any slack

Table 3 Independent 2 sample t-test results for total knowledge scores

	N	M	SD	SE	t	df	Sig (2-tailed)
Age
>30 years old	56	5.7857	1.41054	0.18849	1.502	150	0.135
<30 years old	96	5.4375	1.35966	0.13877
Race
Caucasian	80	5.8000	1.42965	0.17211	−2.130	147	0.035
Other	69	5.3188	1.32550	0.14820
Gender
Male	48	5.0833	1.30194	0.18792	−2.920	151	0.004
Female	105	5.7714	1.37461	0.13415

Abbreviations: N, sample size; M, mean; SD, standard deviation; SE, standard error; t, t-test score; df, degrees of freedom; Sig, significance.