Accidents in childhood: relation to psychosocial conditions and mental development.

In a longitudinal cohort study we investigated if children experiencing psychosocial stress and exhibiting certain psychopathological symptoms run a higher risk of having accidents than other children. In 366 children the number of hospital-treated casualties during the first 10 years of their lives was related to the physical and mental characteristics of the children and to the social conditions in their families. Boys had a higher number of accidents when one or both of the parents were known to have alcohol problems. Girls exhibiting symptoms of depression, anxiety and problems in social relationships at 4-5 years of age had more accidents than girls without such symptoms. However, the differences in accident rates were small, perhaps due to the physical environment in the housing areas and the general attitude, both aiming towards reducing childhood accidents.