Exploring farm parenting styles and child agricultural injury

Four distinct parenting styles have been described: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved. Parenting styles have been associated with a myriad of child safety and health outcomes. However, the association between parenting style and child agricultural injury has not been explored. This study was conducted among farm parents in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania using a self-administered paper questionnaire. Parents responded to items inquiring about parenting styles, previous child agricultural injuries, personal demographics, and farm characteristics. A total of 238 farm parents responded to the survey. Over a third of respondents (34.3%) reported a child agricultural injury. About 41% of parents were classified as authoritative (demonstrating a high level of involvement and control), 35.7% as uninvolved, 13.3% as permissive, and 10% as authoritarian. In the univariable analyses of parenting style, notable elevations in child injury rates occurred for the authoritarian (RR = 1.96, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08 to 3.58, p = 0.0274) and uninvolved (RR = 1.58, 95% CI 1.00 to 2.50, p = 0.0506) categories as compared to the referent category of authoritative. In the multivariable analyses that were adjusted for confounding variables, the magnitude of the corresponding RR estimates were less dramatic, although a 69% elevation was still present for the authoritarian parenting style (RR = 1.69, 95% CI 0.91 to 3.15, p = 0.0975). The results of this study contribute to the growing body of literature suggesting that authoritative parenting is protective against risk-taking behaviors in childhood as well as reducing potential injury among children. Clinicians and safety experts should consider parenting styles when developing child agricultural injury prevention resources or interventions.