Risk Compensation in Children: Why Do Children Show It in Reaction to Wearing Safety Gear?

School-age children's self-reported risk compensation (greater risk-taking when wearing safety gear compared to when not doing so) was investigated using 6 common play situations. Children responded to hypothetical scenarios by rating intended risk-taking when wearing safety gear and not doing so, and by providing explanations for their behavior. Results revealed greater risk-taking scores under gear than no-gear conditions for every situation, indicating risk compensation operated for every activity. There was no significant variation in risk compensation with age or sex. Rationales for engaging in greater risk-taking when wearing safety gear revealed that the children believed wearing safety gear made them invulnerable to any degree of injury, protected them from serious injury, and resulted in them somehow being more competent to perform a higher-risk activity. Implications for childhood injury prevention are discussed.