Validation of the Activity Room: An Ecologically Valid Assessment of Young Children’s Risk-Taking

Physical risk-taking is associated with increased risk of unintentional injury, a global health challenge and the leading cause of death for children in the United States. To assess risk and develop prevention programs, valid tools to assess children’s physical risk-taking are needed. No ecologically valid behavioral measures are widely available. This study describes the development and validation of the “Activity Room” to measure children’s physical risk-taking while presenting low risk of actual injury. Participants were 59 children aged 4 to 6 years old (51% female; 51% non-Hispanic White) and their parents. Children completed two tasks to assess physical risk-taking: (a) vignettes (short stories presenting risk situations) and (b) the “Activity Room” (unsupervised engagement for 5 min in a room with apparatus designed to stimulate potential physical risk-taking). Parents responded to a questionnaire concerning children’s active play behaviors. Correlational analyses evaluated convergent validity of the Activity Room risk-taking outcome. The Activity Room proved feasible; all children engaged eagerly and safely. Convergent validity was demonstrated through two strategies. First, risk-taking in the Activity Room correlated with observed play behaviors, such as climbing and falling. Second, risk-taking in the Activity Room correlated with children’s risk-taking responses in the vignettes and with parent-reported child risk-taking. Results indicate the Activity Room task is a valid technique to assess young children’s risk-taking in an ecologically valid real-world behavioral task. Incorporation of the task as an assessment tool may benefit a range of studies investigating children’s physical risk-taking behavior, risky decision-making, and child injury prevention strategies.