Relationship between religion and school students' road behavior in southern Iran

• Main Authors: Reza Tabrizi, Maryam Akbari, Kamran B. Lankarani, Seyed Taghi Heydari, Alireza Masoudi, Amir Hossein Shams, Armin Akbarzadeh, Saba Moalemi, Maryam Mahmoodi Mehr, Ahmad Kalateh Sadati, Payam Peymani
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2017-10-01
• Series: Chinese Journal of Traumatology
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1008127516302371

Purpose: Unsafe behaviors are an important cause of accidents in adolescent age groups. This study was designed to examine the behaviors of adolescent pedestrians in southern Iran. Methods: This is a descriptive analytical cross-sectional study. The study population consisted of high school students in Shiraz, capital city of Fars Province, Iran. Five hundred and sixteen students were selected by multi-stage sampling. Data were collected by the use of three questionnaires, which included Persian copies of adolescent road user behavior questionnaire (ARBQ), Duke University Religious Index (DUREL), as well as the context and independent variables questionnaire. Results: The results showed that a decrease in dangerous behaviors on the road resulted in an increase in respondents' intrinsic religiosity. Also, engagement in unsafe crossing behavior in the road decreased with increasing respondents' intrinsic religiosity. Another finding showed that female students were less involved in dangerous play and planned protective behaviors on the road. Conclusion: Findings clearly indicate that intrinsic religiosity has a significant role in reducing the risky road behaviors of students. Hence, religion may improve road safety in school students' road behavior in Iran. Keywords: Religion, Traffic accidents, Road behaviors, Students