Safety First? Parental Perceptions Regarding Protective Sports Gear for Youth Participating in Recreational and Competitive Sports

Background: Despite the wide availability of protective sports gear (PG), sports-related injuries continue to rise with over 3.5 million cases reported annually among children in the United States. These injuries may result, in part, from misconceptions among parents that PG is not necessary for children above a certain age or in certain sports supervision settings [SS; casual play (CP), official practice (OP), formal games (FG)]. The goal of this study was to determine the age, if any, at which parents of children …