An exploratory study of salient family risk factors in relation to preschoolers’ unintentional injury in northwest China

Abstract

Unintentional injury among Chinese preschoolers is an under-researched area. This study examined four salient risk factors underlying unintentional injury; these risk factors have been studied in samples of older children, but not preschoolers, in China. In light of an ecological systems theory, these factors can be conceptualized as three microsystem characteristics (only child status, main caregivers, and family mobility) and one mesosystem characteristic (residential area). We tested the hypotheses that only child status, having caregivers other than two parents, family mobility, and rural residential area would be associated with increased risk for unintentional injury in preschoolers. Caregivers of 217 preschoolers in northwest China completed a questionnaire on their family characteristics and their children’s injury status over the last year. Age, gender, and family SES were controlled for in the analyses. Logistic regression showed that urban children and those in high mobility families were more than twice as likely to have unintentional injuries than rural children and those in low mobility families. Tests of moderation showed that being in a high mobility family, and being cared for by other than two parents, each increased the injury risk for rural preschoolers. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of studying the micro- and mesosystems of preschoolers in the context of China’s rapid economic growth, as well as the importance of designing research-based prevention programs to reduce preschoolers’ risk of unintentional injury.