A measure that relates to elementary school children's risk of injury: the supervision attributes and risk-taking questionnaire (SARTQ).

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the supervision attributes and risk-taking questionnaire (SARTQ), which is a new measure of caregiver supervision and child risk-taking that applies to elementary school children 7-10 years of age.

METHODS

Using a prospective design, scores on the SARTQ were related to children's recent and long-term history of injuries and to parents' supervision scores that were derived based on measuring their home supervision practices over 8 weeks.

RESULTS

Subscale scores on the SARTQ related differentially to measures of supervision and child injury scores, providing support for the criterion validity of this new measure.

CONCLUSION

Results from this initial test of the SARTQ suggest that it holds promise as a measure that is relevant to understanding injury risk for elementary school children.