Gender differences in preschool children’s declared and behavioral compliance with pedestrian rules

The study examined gender differences in compliance with pedestrian rules among preschool children. Two groups of 5-year-old boys and girls containing a total of 162 children participated in the study. First, the children’s compliance was assessed during crossing and walking by observing their pedestrian behaviors. Then, each child was interviewed on pedestrian-danger appraisal, rule knowledge, rule compliance, and rule internalization. As hypothesized, the results showed that girls’ behaviors were more compliant than those of boys. However, boys were more compliant than girls in looking at the surrounding environment as they traveled and before crossing. Girls said they were more compliant with rules, had better knowledge of rules, and exhibited greater rule internalization than boys. Danger appraisals, however, were found to be comparable for boys and girls. Moreover, declared compliance was linked to behavioral compliance among girls but not among boys. These findings suggest that girls and boys have different motives for obeying safety rules. The results are discussed in regard to the origins of gender differences in traffic-rule compliance.