<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><sec id="j_sjph-2017-0008_s_101_w2aab3b8c40b1b7b1aab1c15b1Aa"><h3>Introduction</h3><p>The behaviour of parents in ensuring car passenger safety for their children is associated with socio-economic (SE) status of the family; however, the influence of parental education has rarely been researched and the findings are contradictory. The aim of the study was to clarify whether parental education influences the use of a child car seat during short rides.</p></sec><sec id="j_sjph-2017-0008_s_102_w2aab3b8c40b1b7b1aab1c15b2Aa"><h3>Methods</h3><p>A cross-sectional survey was carried out in outpatient clinics for children’s healthcare across Slovenia. 904 parents of 3-year-old children participated in the study; the response rate was 95.9%. A self-administered questionnaire was used. A binary multiple logistic regression was applied to assess the association between parental unsafe behaviour as dependent variable, and education and other SE factors as independent variables.</p></sec><sec id="j_sjph-2017-0008_s_103_w2aab3b8c40b1b7b1aab1c15b3Aa"><h3>Results</h3><p>14.6% of parents did not use a child car seat during short rides. Families where mother had low or college education had higher odds of the non-use of a child car seat than families where mother had a university education. Single-parent families and those who lived in areas with low or medium SE status also had higher odds of the non-use of a child car seat.</p></sec><sec id="j_sjph-2017-0008_s_104_w2aab3b8c40b1b7b1aab1c15b4Aa"><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Low educational attainment influences parents’ behaviour regarding the non-use of a child car seat. Low parental education is not the only risk factor since some highly educated parents also have high odds of unsafe behaviour. All parents should therefore be included in individually tailored safety counselling programmes. SE inequalities could be further reduced with provision of free child car seats for eligible families.</p></sec></abstract>

IntroductionThe behaviour of parents in ensuring car passenger safety for their children is associated with socio-economic (SE) status of the family; however, the influence of parental education has rarely been researched and the findings are contradictory. The aim of the study was to clarify whether parental education influences the use of a child car seat during short rides.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was carried out in outpatient clinics for children’s healthcare across Slovenia. 904 parents of 3-year-old children participated in the study; the response rate was 95.9%. A self-administered questionnaire was used. A binary multiple logistic regression was applied to assess the association between parental unsafe behaviour as dependent variable, and education and other SE factors as independent variables.Results14.6% of parents did not use a child car seat during short rides. Families where mother had low or college education had higher odds of the non-use of a child car seat than families where mother had a university education. Single-parent families and those who lived in areas with low or medium SE status also had higher odds of the non-use of a child car seat.ConclusionsLow educational attainment influences parents’ behaviour regarding the non-use of a child car seat. Low parental education is not the only risk factor since some highly educated parents also have high odds of unsafe behaviour. All parents should therefore be included in individually tailored safety counselling programmes. SE inequalities could be further reduced with provision of free child car seats for eligible families.

The influence of parental education and other socio-economic factors on child car seat use

National Institute of Public Health, Centre for Health Research and Development, Trubarjeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana,

Institute of Occupational Safety, Chengdujska c. 25, 1260 Ljubljana-Polje,

Slovenian Journal of Public Health

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

VPLIV IZOBRAZBE STARŠEV IN DRUGIH SOCIALNO-EKONOMSKIH DEJAVNIKOV NA UPORABO OTROŠKEGA AVTOMOBILSKEGA SEDEŽA

IntroductionThe behaviour of parents in ensuring car passenger safety for their children is associated with socio-economic (SE) status of the family; however,...

The influence of parental education and other socio-economic factors on child car seat use

Article Category: Original scientific article

Published Online: Nov 06, 2016

Page range: 55 - 64

Received: Dec 08, 2015

Accepted: Jul 07, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sjph-2017-0008

Keywords
child restraint systems, educational status, socioeconomic factors, preschool children

© 2016 National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The influence of parental education and other socio-economic factors on child car seat use

Article Category: Original scientific article

Published Online: Nov 06, 2016

Page range: 55 - 64

Received: Dec 08, 2015

Accepted: Jul 07, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sjph-2017-0008

Keywordschild restraint systems, educational status, socioeconomic factors, preschool children

© 2016 National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
child restraint systems, educational status, socioeconomic factors, preschool children