EFFECTS OF INFORMATION ON PURCHASE OF BOOSTER SEATS

Motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of death and injury for children of all ages in the U.S., despite improved crashworthiness of vehicles and more effective restraint systems. Children who are too large for child safety seats (a child restraint system for children birth to 4 years old) are often restrained improperly or not at all. For effective protection, these children should be restrained in a booster seat (child safety seat for children 4-9 years of age) used with vehicle lap/shoulder belts. For this reason, the use and correct use of occupant protection for 4-9 year old children needs attention.

A field study with 128 participants was conducted using a pre- and post-test design with 4 treatment groups to test the hypotheses that informational pamphlets and dollars-off coupons will induce the purchase of booster seats. Of the 128 participants, 37 purchased booster seats, and 100% of those who purchased reported using them each time their child rode in a vehicle. Analyses indicated that intervention of any kind was more effective than no intervention in influencing the purchase of a booster seat.