The Road User Behaviours of Chinese Adolescents: Data From China and a Comparison With Adolescents in Other Countries

Objectives: Adolescents experience high rates of road traffic injuries and deaths as pedestrians and cyclists. One likely reason for adolescents’ elevated traffic injury risk is their risky behaviour on the road. This study examined Chinese adolescents’ road behaviour using a nationwide survey. Meth...

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Main Authors: Huarong Wang, Mengying Wu, Xuebing Cheng, David C. Schwebel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Levy Library Press 2019-05-01
Series:Annals of Global Health
Online Access:https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/2452
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spelling doaj-6b34a036769b42eea27224df2ad370162020-11-25T00:42:00ZengLevy Library PressAnnals of Global Health2214-99962019-05-0185110.5334/aogh.24522343The Road User Behaviours of Chinese Adolescents: Data From China and a Comparison With Adolescents in Other CountriesHuarong Wang0Mengying Wu1Xuebing Cheng2David C. Schwebel3Nantong UniversityNantong UniversityNantong UniversityUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamObjectives: Adolescents experience high rates of road traffic injuries and deaths as pedestrians and cyclists. One likely reason for adolescents’ elevated traffic injury risk is their risky behaviour on the road. This study examined Chinese adolescents’ road behaviour using a nationwide survey. Methods: Across 7 Chinese provinces, 4,794 adolescents completed the Chinese version of the Adolescent Road User Behaviour Questionnaire (ARBQ). Results from t-tests and ANOVAs described the road behaviours of Chinese adolescent subgroups, and meta-analytic techniques and Kendall’s correlation analysis compared adolescent road behaviours between China and other countries (Iran and a high-income country composite). Results: Replicating previous reports from other countries, male adolescents in China generally reported more risk-taking on the road than females, and adolescents aged 15 years and over behaved in a riskier manner than younger ones. Adolescents in rural China reported more risky road behaviours than those who lived in cities, and adolescents who lived only with grandparents behaved more riskily than those who lived with parents only or with parents and grandparents. Adolescents previously involved in a traffic injury also reported riskier road behaviours. In cross-national comparisons, Chinese adolescents’ scores on unsafe road behaviours were lower, and scores on safe road behaviours were higher, than those in other nations. However, there were also several commonalities in how adolescents across countries ranked the frequency of engaging in specific risky road behaviours. Conclusions: Gender, age, living environment, and traffic injury experience affect adolescents’ reports of their risky road behaviour. Chinese adolescents reported more cautious behaviour than those in high-income countries and in Iran. Traffic injury interventions for adolescents should consider adolescent development as part of pedestrian safety training; results also have implications for guiding parents on how to supervise adolescents near traffic and on what infrastructure development strategies might best protect adolescents in traffic situations.https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/2452
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Huarong Wang
Mengying Wu
Xuebing Cheng
David C. Schwebel
spellingShingle Huarong Wang
Mengying Wu
Xuebing Cheng
David C. Schwebel
The Road User Behaviours of Chinese Adolescents: Data From China and a Comparison With Adolescents in Other Countries
Annals of Global Health
author_facet Huarong Wang
Mengying Wu
Xuebing Cheng
David C. Schwebel
author_sort Huarong Wang
title The Road User Behaviours of Chinese Adolescents: Data From China and a Comparison With Adolescents in Other Countries
title_short The Road User Behaviours of Chinese Adolescents: Data From China and a Comparison With Adolescents in Other Countries
title_full The Road User Behaviours of Chinese Adolescents: Data From China and a Comparison With Adolescents in Other Countries
title_fullStr The Road User Behaviours of Chinese Adolescents: Data From China and a Comparison With Adolescents in Other Countries
title_full_unstemmed The Road User Behaviours of Chinese Adolescents: Data From China and a Comparison With Adolescents in Other Countries
title_sort road user behaviours of chinese adolescents: data from china and a comparison with adolescents in other countries
publisher Levy Library Press
series Annals of Global Health
issn 2214-9996
publishDate 2019-05-01
description Objectives: Adolescents experience high rates of road traffic injuries and deaths as pedestrians and cyclists. One likely reason for adolescents’ elevated traffic injury risk is their risky behaviour on the road. This study examined Chinese adolescents’ road behaviour using a nationwide survey. Methods: Across 7 Chinese provinces, 4,794 adolescents completed the Chinese version of the Adolescent Road User Behaviour Questionnaire (ARBQ). Results from t-tests and ANOVAs described the road behaviours of Chinese adolescent subgroups, and meta-analytic techniques and Kendall’s correlation analysis compared adolescent road behaviours between China and other countries (Iran and a high-income country composite). Results: Replicating previous reports from other countries, male adolescents in China generally reported more risk-taking on the road than females, and adolescents aged 15 years and over behaved in a riskier manner than younger ones. Adolescents in rural China reported more risky road behaviours than those who lived in cities, and adolescents who lived only with grandparents behaved more riskily than those who lived with parents only or with parents and grandparents. Adolescents previously involved in a traffic injury also reported riskier road behaviours. In cross-national comparisons, Chinese adolescents’ scores on unsafe road behaviours were lower, and scores on safe road behaviours were higher, than those in other nations. However, there were also several commonalities in how adolescents across countries ranked the frequency of engaging in specific risky road behaviours. Conclusions: Gender, age, living environment, and traffic injury experience affect adolescents’ reports of their risky road behaviour. Chinese adolescents reported more cautious behaviour than those in high-income countries and in Iran. Traffic injury interventions for adolescents should consider adolescent development as part of pedestrian safety training; results also have implications for guiding parents on how to supervise adolescents near traffic and on what infrastructure development strategies might best protect adolescents in traffic situations.
url https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/2452
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