Health beliefs and social influence in home safety practices of mothers with preschool children.

The purpose of this study was to determine relationships among health beliefs, social influence, and home injury proofing-behavior in 140 low-income mothers with preschool children. Data were collected through structured interviews and observations of safety hazards in subjects' homes. Regression analysis showed that the combination of health beliefs, social influence, demographic, and experiential variables accounted for 51% of the variance in hazard accessibility and 44% in hazard frequency. Self efficacy, previous injury experience, knowledge, age, and birth position of the children were significant predictors of home safety practices. Recommendations are offered for practice, research, and health policy.