The public's preventive strategies in response to the pandemic influenza A/H1N1 in France: distribution and determinants.

OBJECTIVES: Since the emergence of the pandemic influenza A/H1N1, people were encouraged to adopt a large range of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical measures in order to counter the risk of infection. The aim of this article is to identify and to explain the different types of preventive strategies adopted by the French population. METHODS: The data are based on a phone survey conducted with a representative sample of the French population (N=1003) in December 2009 (cooperation rate=45.9%). Logistic regressions were used in order to characterize the different preventive behavioral patterns towards the A/H1N1 influenza. RESULTS: Four types of behavioral strategies have been identified: 31.5% of the respondents combined vaccination (intention or action, regardless of the nature of the vaccine) with non-pharmaceutical measures, 8.8% wanted to get exclusively vaccinated, 42.0% took non-pharmaceutical steps only and 17.7% didn't protect themselves at all. Significant social and cognitive variables were found to predict membership of each group. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that a large majority of that is mainly population adopted a selective strategy rather than a cumulative one as it was recommended, a choice mostly explained by the level of risk perception.

Is the way young people drive a reflection of the way their parents drive? An econometric study of the relation between parental risk and their children's risk.

This article aims to investigate parental influence on high-risk behavior by young people. Although research on the topic of perception of risk demonstrates that it is socially constructed, the role of the family in this construction has rarely been studied. Using a French national survey of more than 1,200 young drivers between the ages of 18 and 25, and their parents, we attempt to understand the transmission of risk within families. Our econometric study shows that parents influence both the practices and representations of their children. When parental norms and values are transmitted, they are by no means accepted in a wholly passive way. Indeed, the parental model is in competition with other models that originate from both inside the family (brothers and sisters) and outside it (instructors). Furthermore, parental influence decreases over time as young people become more experienced drivers and construct their own identity with regard to risk.