Child pedestrian safety training in virtual reality: How quickly do children achieve adult functioning and what individual differences impact learning efficiency?

• Over 99% of 7- and 8-year-old children reached adult street-crossing competency after training in a virtual reality pedestrian environment. • On average, children required ten 30-minute training sessions to master competency, and the extent of training required varied widely across children. • In univariate analyses, male gender, higher scores on visual memory, visual perception, processing speed, and working memory tasks, and fewer externalizing symptoms were all positively associated with faster mastery of pedestrian skills. • In a multivariable model, only child age significantly predicted speed of mastery, with older children learning quicker. • Implementation of child pedestrian safety training in virtual reality is recommended, but must be conducted cautiously to ensure children are adequately trained. Introduction : Pedestrian injuries represent a leading cause of child death globally. One prevention strategy is teaching children street-crossing skills. Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a strategy to offer repeated street-crossing practice and overcome ethical barriers of training children in live traffic. This study addressed two questions pertinent to implementation of child pedestrian safety training within VR: (a) how much training do children require to achieve adult street-crossing competency, and (b) what individual differences might facilitate children to acquire that competency more efficiently? Methods: Five hundred 7- and 8-year-olds were recruited. Children completed pedestrian safety training within VR for up to 25 thirty-minute training sessions until they achieved adult levels of mastery. At baseline, four cognitive-perceptual skills (visual memory, visual perception, processing speed, working memory) and parent-reported externalizing symptomatology were assessed. Results: On average, children achieved adult pedestrian safety competency after 10.0 training sessions (SD = 4.8). Just one child (<1%) failed to achieve adult pedestrian functioning after 25 training sessions. In univariate analyses, boys took slightly longer than girls to achieve adult functioning, and visual memory, visual perception, processing speed, working memory, and fewer externalizing symptoms were all positively associated with shorter time to mastery. In a multivariable model, only child age was a statistically significant predictor. Conclusion: Almost all participants achieved adult street-crossing skills competency through VR training, although they required about 10 sessions on average. Analysis of predictor variables confirmed that nearly all 7- and 8-year-olds are trainable. Practical Application: Implementation of VR pedestrian safety training is recommended, but must be conducted cautiously to ensure children are not permitted to engage independently in traffic until they are assessed and demonstrate sufficient skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]