Objectives:
The goal of the study was to examine how parents use conversation to promote the
internalization of safety values after their child has been seriously injured.
Methods: Parent interviews detailing post-injury conversations were coded
for strategies mentioned to prevent injuries in the future and information about
circumstances surrounding the injury.
Results: Logistic regression analyses revealed that parents were more likely
to discuss why an activity was dangerous with older than younger children, and
were more likely to urge daughters than sons to be more careful in the future.
Injuries resulting from the presence of environmental hazards predicted parents
telling children to be more careful in the future. Having others involved
predicted parents urging children not to engage in the behavior again.
Conclusions: Findings suggest that parents modulated strategies according to
age, gender, and injury circumstances in order to maximize the likelihood that
children would behave differently in the future.