1362 - COMPARING COGNITIVE FUNCTION AND STREET CROSSING BEHAVIOURS IN CHILDREN AND ADULTS

Session: D13S003 - Cognitive and Perceptual Mechanisms in Traffic Behaviour 2
AUTHORS:
Whyte-Ball Tina (School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University ~ Sydney ~ Australia) , Mcguckian Thomas (Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University ~ Melbourbe ~ Australia) , Anic Aydin (School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University ~ Sydney ~ Australia) , Healy Nathan (School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University ~ Sydney ~ Australia) , Palmer Kathleen (School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University ~ Sydney ~ Australia) , Lam Nikki (School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University ~ Sydney ~ Australia) , Lucas Ralph (School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University ~ Sydney ~ Australia) , Bennett Joanne (School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University ~ Sydney ~ Australia)
Abstract text:

Introduction


To safely cross the street, pedestrians are required to process and attend to visual stimuli while making decisions (Schwebel et al., 2012). The information processing model highlights the role multiple cognitive domains in predicting pedestrian behaviours (IPM; Uc & Rizzo, 2008; Barton & Morrongiello, 2011). Children are vulnerable road users with road crashes being the leading cause of death for children aged 5-19 years (WHO, 2020). Underdeveloped cognitive function is a potential explanation for their increased risk (Barton & Schwebel, 2007). Given the importance of cognitive function for street-crossing behaviours, comparing adults and children could be useful because cognitive function should be fully developed by adulthood. Understanding in the role of cognitive function will help inform the development of interventions.


Purpose


This study compared the relationship between cognitive function and the street-crossing behaviours of Hazard Perception (HP) and Gap Acceptance (GA) in both children and adults to determine if cognition was a stronger predictor of street-crossing behaviours than age.


Method


32 children aged 7-11 years (M = 9.48, SD = 1.31, 75.2% male) and 44 adults 18 to 36 years (M = 9.48, SD = 1.31, 75.2% male) completed cognitive tests measuring domains in IMP. Participants completed a virtual reality pedestrian street-crossing task to measure their HP response time (HP-RT), HP accuracy, and GA response time (GA-RT).


Results


Cognitive function was a significant moderate predictor of HP-RT over and above age (R² = .20, p < .01) with memory a significant individual predictor. Cognitive function was not a significant predictor of HP accuracy (R² = .17, p > .05) or GA-RT (R² = 08, p =.29) over and above age.


Conclusion


To improve HP across age groups, interventions should incorporate upskilling cognitive function across the domains of the IPM. More research is needed to understand the predictors of GA.