Cognitive development and locus of control as predictors of preschoolers' understanding of safety and prevention

Preschoolers' cognitive level and locus of control orientation and their parents' locus of control orientation were considered as possible predictors of children's abilities to differentiate between safe and unsafe situations (safety score) and specify preventive measures (prevention score). Individual interviews were conducted with 3- to 6-year-old children enrolled at a daycare center, and their parents completed the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control and the Accident Locus of Control (ALOC) scales. As hypothesized, children's level of causal reasoning was positively correlated with their safety and prevention scores. A curvilinear relationship was evident relationship existed with prevention score. Fathers' ALOC score was the only parent measure that predicted children's safety score, while none of the parent measures were predictive of children's prevention score. The findings were discussed in terms of safety education programs and directions for future research.