Two aspects of injury-related behaviours among a group of young Norwegian adolescents were studied: 1) risk-seeking behaviours, i.e. the engagement in potentially dangerous activities, and 2) safety-seeking behaviours, i.e. actions which reduce the risk of accidents or injuries by the use of safety equipment. Confirmatory factor analysis provided empirical support for the contention that these behaviours constituted two seperate dimensions. Furthermore, respondents' sex, their perceived likelihood of being involved in an accident and four sensation seeking scales were used as external variables to assess whether the variables were differentially related to the two factors. Three of the external variables did relate differentially, providing additional support for the existence of two distinct behaviour patterns. However, sensation seeking seemed to account for portions of both patterns. The intepretation of the relationship is discussed with regard to what the risk-seeking and safety-seeking behavior patterns may reflect.
Abstract