| Pediatric unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for children aged five and older across the globe, accounting for approximately one death every 30 seconds (Safe Kids Worldwide, 2014; World Health Organization [WHO], 2008). Anxiety disorders have been shown to relate to a number of variables that are risk factors for unintentional injury, however the vast majority of studies on parent psychopathology and unintentional injury have focused on the effects of depression, with very limited research on maternal anxiety (Barker, Jaffee, Uher, & Maughan, 2011; Glasheen, Richardson, & Fabio, 2010). Further, recent research has indicated that unintentional injuries are not determined by any one risk factor, but rather a combination of multiple variables including characteristics of the parent, safety practices, child characteristics, and the presence of hazards (Phelan et al., 2014). Thus, in order to inform future injury prevention research, the current study examined the effects of maternal anxiety on pediatric unintentional injuries while simultaneously investigating the attributes of the child, parent, and environment. Participants included 48 children ages 2-5 and their mothers. Mothers completed measures of demographic variables, unintentional injury risk, supervision, child anxiety, and maternal anxiety and depression. Additionally, the mothers and children completed an observational measure of injury risk and supervision behavior in a contrived hazard room setting.;The results of the present study indicated that maternal anxiety is associated with children's risk for unintentional injury (r = .31, p = .032). Surprisingly, the current study found no significant relationship between maternal anxiety and supervision practices (r = .009, p = .951) and found that maternal anxiety, supervision practices, and child anxiety did not interact to predict injury risk (R2 = .284, F(7,40) = 2.264, p = .049). Potential implications and explanations for these findings are discussed. |
