The roles of age, gender, inhibitory control, and parental supervision in children’s pedestrian safety. Manuscript submitted for publication

Objective Thousands of American children are injured or killed each year as pedestrians, but behavioral factors in pedestrian injury etiology remain poorly understood. We examined the roles of children’s individual differences (age, gender, and inhibitory control) and parental supervision in children’s pedestrian behaviors. Methods Using the pretend road method, a sample of 85 children and 26 adults crossed a pretend crosswalk set adjacent to a real road. Safety of crossing the pretend road was determined based on actual traffic on the real road. Adults also crossed the real road. Results Adults ’ behavior on the real road paralleled that on the pretend road, supporting validity of the method. On the pretend road, younger children, boys, and children with less behavioral control engaged in riskier pedestrian behaviors. Children with less behavioral control responded more noticeably to increases in parental supervision. Conclusion Results are discussed in relation to children’s development and injury prevention. Key words inhibitory control; injury etiology; parental supervision; pedestrian injuries; unintentional injuries. Each year approximately 15,000 American children under the age of 10 are injured as pedestrians, and more than 320 are killed (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2005). In the United States alone, children’s pedestrian injuries result in an estimated annual loss of $11.7 billion dollars in injury-related expenses (National Safety Council, 2001). In spite of the tremendous public health and financial cost, behavioral factors that contribute to the etiology of pedestrian injuries remain poorly understood. The present study examines two independent but related questions concerning the etiology of children’s pedestrian injury. First, we consider the roles of age, gender, and inhibitory control as individual differences influencing children’s pedestrian behaviors. Second, we investigate the role of parental supervision in influencing children’s pedestrian behaviors. Individual Difference Factor