[Self-reported accident frequency among children and adolescents].

The article presents self-reported accidents among a representative group of Norwegian children from grades 5, 7 and 9. About half of the girls and 2/3 of the boys report having had at least one accident which had to be treated by a physician during their lifetime. This number is less than expected on the basis of accident-report figures, and may indicate that a small group of children have an unproportionally large number of accidents. About 35% of the children surveyed report having had an accident sometime during the past year. This is significantly more than expected and thus indicates report bias. There are important methodological difficulties associated with self-reporting of accidents among children. The difficulties can be minimized if the time period is limited and the types of accident are well-defined. If these conditions are fulfilled, self-reporting can be an important complement to accident-report figures.