Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death and disability for youth under 20, and motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death in youth aged 15-19 (World Health Organization, 2010). Research has consistently shown that driver education programs do not result in safer youth driving. Indeed, the biggest predictor of collisions involving youth is parental history of collisions. This dissertation comprised two studies – one to develop a measure of risky driving and one that examined the influence of parents on youth risky driving. Participants (N = 432) for both studies were undergraduate students aged 17 to 22 who had obtained their G2 driver’s licence in the past year. In Study 1, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the new Youth Domains of Risky Driving Scale revealed a four-factor solution consisting of aggressive, substance use, distracted, and moving violation subscales. In Study 2, this new measure was used to evaluate relations between parental modeling of risky driving behaviours, parental teaching about safe driving behaviours, and youth risky driving. Results revealed that parental modeling was generally more predictive of youth risk than parental teaching, for all four subtypes of driving behaviours examined. Youth whose parents modeled risky driving behaviour were more likely be willing to drive in a risky manner, to expect that they would do so in the future, and to report a history of risky driving in the past. Findings from this study highlight the role parents play in the development of youth risky driving. Implications for future interventions targeting parent driving behaviour in the early months of youth licensure are discussed. / Canadian Institutes of Health Research

In response to the growing child and adolescent obesity epidemic, some states and local school authorities are mandating the measurement of Body Mass Index (BMI). However, there is limited research addressing whether schools are an appropriate setting and the intended as well as unintended effects of sharing this information with parents. Furthermore, there is yet to be conclusive evidence that shows that BMI screening in the school setting is an effective way to improve student BMI status. Therefore, the purpose of this research study was to explore the effects of BMI Health Report Card Letters among 6th grade students and their parents by applying a Social Cognitive Theory conceptual framework. A non-experimental, post - test only study design involving child/parent dyads was employed to answer the proposed research questions. Quantitative data were gathered from students and parents using separate theory based questionnaires. Key results include a statistically significant difference between delivery methods (mail vs. backpack) for the number parents who confirmed receiving the BMI letter (p = .001) and reading the BMI letter (p = .005). Additionally, there were statistically significant differences between parents based on child BMI categories. Specifically, a greater number of parents of children "at risk of overweight" or "overweight" took one or more action to control their child's weight associated with food restriction (p = .005) and physical activity (p < .001) and reported greater parental concern about child’s weight (p = .001) and parental modeling of negative talk / behaviors (p = .019). Parents of children of “normal weight” reported greater perceived importance of child nutrition behaviors (p = .026). Results indicate the importance of mailing BMI Health Report Card Letters as well as the occurrence of unintended negative consequences. Implications include the need for tailored BMI letters, based on child weight status, which include information and resources to increase parent's capacity to share BMI information with their child as well as make healthy changes in the home.