Abstract

This study examines adolescents' causal attribution of accidents and their cognitive representation of safety using the indigenous psychology approach. In addition, this study examined safety efficacy beliefs with a sample of primary, junior high, senior high, and university students. A total sample of 1,074 adolescents participated in the study (primary school students=200, junior highschool students=241, preparatory high school students=206, and vocational high school students=206, and university students=206). The results indicate that the most severe accidents occurred during recreational activities, followed by traffic accidents, and majority of adolescents perceive that their lack of self-regulation, specifically their inattentiveness, was the cause of accidents. When they were involved in accidents, they were most likely to receive support from their parents. To avoid future accidents, adolescents responded that they needed to regulate themselves by being cautious and careful. In contrasts, very few respondents pointed out problems with facilities or environmental factors. In terms of safety efficacy beliefs, adolescents had moderate level of safety efficacy belief, with primary school students having the highest mean and the university students having the lowest mean. Finally, safety efficacy belief was positively correlated with parental socio-economic status and academic grade.