Objective: This study examined bicycle helmet attitudes
and practices of college undergraduates and developed the Bicycle
Helmet Attitudes Scale, which was guided by the Health Belief
Model (HBM; Rosenstock, 1974, in Becker MH, ed. The Health
Belief Model and Personal Health Behavior. Thorofare, NJ: Charles
B. Slack; 1974:328–335) to predict reported helmet use. Participants:
Students (N =337) from a mid-sized university in the southeast
completed a survey between November 2006 and November
2007. Methods: Participants completed a comprehensive survey
on attitudes and behaviors relevant to bicycle helmet use. Results:
The resulting Bicycle Helmet Attitudes Scale contains 57 items
and represents 10 reliable subscales that reflect the HBM. Only
12% of students were self-reported helmet users. Bicycle Helmet
Attitudes Scale scores captured 52% of the variance associated
with helmet use; each subscale differentiated wearers from nonwearers.
Men reported more media influences than did women.
Conclusions: The utility of the HBM to predicted bicycle helmet
use was supported. Implications for promoting cycling safety are
discussed.