Abstract
Problem: Children on family agricultural operations have high risk of injury. The association between children's behavioral traits and their risk of injury is not well understood. Method: Data from the Regional Rural Injury Study-II were used to assess behavioral risk factors for injury to children ages six to <20 years. A total of 379 injury events (cases) and 1,562 randomly selected controls were identified. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), calculated using logistic regression, were used to estimate injury risk in reference to behavioral traits. Results: Injury risks were greater for children with high levels of depressive symptoms (OR=1.9, CI=1.0-3.7) and aggression (OR=1.6, CI=0.9-2.7), and low levels of careful/cautious behavior (OR=1.8, CI=1.1-2.9). Children with low levels of self-regulation had reduced risks (OR=0.4, CI=0.2-0.8). Discussion: Results suggest that children's behaviors affect their risk of agricultural injury. Additional research could elucidate mechanisms and inform interventions. Impact on Industry: The development of multifaceted, sustainable approaches for prevention is necessary for this unique population. These findings suggest a need for interventions that incorporate specific behavior-related risk factors in the context of family farms and ranches.
Keywords
Age-factors; Agricultural-industry; Agricultural-workers; Behavior-patterns; Children; Education; Epidemiology; Farmers; Injuries; Injury-prevention; Occupational-hazards; Risk-analysis; Risk-factors; Statistical-analysis; Training; Work-environment;
Author Keywords: Agricultural injury; Injury; Youth; Behavior; Farm safety