FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH SEAT BELT USE IN FAMILIES

Use of seat belts as reported by ninth grade students and their parents in a questionnaire survey was related to a number of factors. Reported seat belt use was low, but children were likely to use seat belts if one parent, and especially if both parents, did; if one parent used belts, the other was likely to as well. Education of mother and father were strong indicators of their own use of seat belts and of their children's use. Parental use and education had independent and cumulative associations with their child's use of seat belts, with use by parents being the more important indicator of the child's use. A personality characteristic, internal control, was related to seat belt use in girls and mothers. Seat belt use among parents and children was found to be associated with a variety of preventive health behaviors. /Author/