All ETDs from UAB

Advisory Committee Chair

Jessica H Mirman

Advisory Committee Members

Leann Long

Catherine McDonald

Olivio Clay

Document Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

2019

Degree Name by School

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) College of Arts and Sciences

Abstract

Child restraint systems, like car seats and booster seats, are effective at preventing serious injury and death for children involved in motor vehicle collisions. Despite this, the majority of families in the United States either do not use, or incorrectly use, child restraint systems. Further, racial minorities are consistently reported to have higher rates of child restraint system non- and misuse than their White peers; research has yet to explain this relationship with previously hypothesized factors (e.g., caregiver education, sources of information). The overall objective of this project was to explain how child, caregiver, and context factors interacted to influence child restraint system use. To address this objective, three studies were conducted. Study one was a meta-analysis of caregiver-directed interventions designed to promote use of child restraint systems. The second study was a mixed-methods study of 50 mother-child dyads, designed to explain how child factors may influence child restraint system use during trips. The third paper examined potential mediating factors of the effect of race on child restraint system use. Collectively, the findings indicated that caregiver-directed interventions were effective at increasing the number of children restrained, however the majority of the studies examined were at a high risk for bias. Additionally, child, caregiver, and context factors likely impact child restraint system use in a complex way.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.