Process Structure of Parent‐Child‐Environment Relations and the Prevention of Children's Injuries

This article outlines a theoretical perspective for conceptualizing and undertaking prevention of unintentional injuries in childhood. This structural‐dynamic conceptualization of child‐environment transaction concerns the reasoning and actions of care givers. The process of caregivers' reasoning about prevention of accidents with children consists of their integrating populational and personal knowledge with information about children's current action within particular settings. The coordination of reasoning processes leads to particular actions that the caregiver performs in respect to the child in the environment. Examples of parent's actions and thinking illustrate how the theoretical perspective is linked with real‐life phenomena. 1987 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues