The relationship between vigilance deficits and traffic injuries involving children

This study was designed to determine whether there is an increased frequency of deficits in impulse control, vigilance, or both, among child bicyclists or pedestrians who have been injured in traffic accidents, as assessed using objective measures and parent and teacher reports.

This was a case-control study, in which cases were children injured as pedestrians or bicyclists (excluding those with severe head injuries) and controls were those injured as passengers or in some other manner in which the child's behavior was unlikely to be a factor.

Children ages 5 to 15 years presenting to the emergency room of the Montreal Children's Hospital.

For each of 286 cases, two controls were selected, making a total of 848 subjects. Among the cases, 172 were injured as pedestrians and 114 as bicyclists.

Children were assessed using the Continuous Performance Task and the Delayed Response Test, both parts of a computerized test battery. Parents and teachers completed the Conners Abbreviated Symptom Questionnaire to assess hyperactivity.

Cases and controls were similar on most sociodemographic and clinical measures but showed statistically significant differences in mean scores on the Continuous Performance Task measures of omissions and commissions, pointing to differences in vigilance, and on the Delayed Response Test measures of impulsivity. Mean Conners scale scores of both parent and teacher were significantly higher for cases than controls, and those of parents were higher than those of teachers.

Among children whose behavior may have been a factor in the occurrence of an injury, there is subjective evidence of increased hyperactivity and objective evidence of deficits in vigilance and attention when compared with closely matched controls. These findings have important implications for prevention.