Introduction

Research on pedestrians’ behavior and safety in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) is scarce, compared to high-income economies. This study aimed to present the validation of the Walking Behavior Questionnaire (WBQ), which has not been tested before in the Dominican Republic, and to evaluate age differences in walking-related self-reported behaviors.

Methods

For this study, a nationwide sample of 1026 pedestrians answered a questionnaire on risky and safe walking behaviors. Psychometric properties of the WBQ, variable correlations and age-based differences in walking were tested.

Results

Overall, the WBQ presented an adequate structure, goodness-of-fit indexes, and high reliability. Significant correlations between walking-related variables and demographic factors, as well as key differences in walking behaviors among young people, adults, and aging adults were found.

Conclusions

These results provide a strong background for assessing walking behaviors through the WBQ (for the first time in an LMIC), as -apart from presenting fair psychometric properties-it highlights the existence of walking pattern-related and demographic differences in the risky behaviors performed by pedestrians.

Implications

In practical settings, this is the first large-scale behavioral questionnaire-based research on pedestrian safety conducted in the Dominican Republic, whose outcomes support the value of implementing effective evidence-based policies and educational interventions that consider age-related specificities for strengthening both healthier and safer walking. Furthermore, these implications may be applied in other countries of the region or with similar socio-economic features.

中文翻译：

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评估多米尼加共和国行人的危险和保护行为：加勒比地区行人安全的新证据

介绍

与高收入经济体相比，中低收入国家 (LMIC) 的行人行为和安全研究很少。本研究旨在验证步行行为问卷 (WBQ)，该问卷之前未在多米尼加共和国进行过测试，并评估步行相关自我报告行为的年龄差异。

方法

在这项研究中，全国范围内的 1026 名行人样本回答了有关危险和安全步行行为的调查问卷。测试了 WBQ 的心理测量特性、变量相关性和基于年龄的步行差异。

结果

总体而言，WBQ 呈现出足够的结构、拟合优度指标和高可靠性。发现步行相关变量与人口统计因素之间存在显着相关性，以及年轻人、成年人和老年人步行行为的主要差异。

结论

这些结果为通过 WBQ（首次在 LMIC 中）评估步行行为提供了强有力的背景，因为除了呈现公平的心理测量特性外，它还强调了步行模式相关和人口统计学差异的存在行人。

影响

在实际环境中，这是第一次在多米尼加共和国进行的基于行人安全的大规模行为问卷研究，其结果支持实施有效的循证政策和教育干预措施的价值，这些政策和教育干预措施考虑到与年龄相关的特殊性，以加强和和更安全的步行。此外，这些影响可能适用于该地区的其他国家或具有类似社会经济特征的国家。