November 4, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Despina "Dessie" Stavrinos, a graduate student at UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) has won the Society of Pediatric Psychology/CDC Injury Prevention Student Research Award. Stavrinos is a graduate assistant in the UAB Injury Control Research Center (ICRC) and a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology.

Working in the UAB Youth Safety Lab, under the direction of David Schwebel, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, Stavrinos' research project, funded by the ICRC, examined the effect of cell phone distraction on pediatric pedestrian injury risk. Stavrinos studied 10- and 11- year-olds using cell phones at a street crossing, using a street crossing simulator developed by Schwebel. Her findings indicated that the children's safety was compromised by distraction caused by cell phone use, and children using cells phones were more likely to be struck by a car in the simulator or have a close call. The study is currently in press in Pediatrics.

The $1,000 award was established by the Society of Pediatric Psychology and the CDC to encourage and reward quality research on issues related to unintentional injury prevention in children and adolescents.