Citation

Harrell WA, Reid EE. Accid. Anal. Prev. 1990; 22(6): 531-542.

Affiliation

Centre for Experimental Sociology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1990, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

2275736

Abstract

Two hundred thirty-six preschool children who were accompanied by an adult were observed in 29 grocery stores. Observational techniques were used to record their likelihood of handling potentially hazardous products while shopping. Twenty-four percent of children handled such products one or more times. More than half of the subjects were confined in grocery cartseats while shopping. This confinement was observed to be the greatest deterrent to handling hazards, regardless of the child's age or the quality of parental supervision. More than 80% of adults left their children unattended on at least one occasion. Adult supervision became critical in preventing contact with hazards if children were not confined in cartseats, with the odds of handling hazards increasing where supervision was relaxed. Loglinear analysis showed that a child's age was also a major factor in predicting handling of hazards, with children older than 3 years more likely to handle hazards than those 3 years or younger. There was also a tendency for adult females to confine older girls more than boys in cartseats.