BACKGROUND: Psychological behaviors play an important role in children accidental injury, and children with a tendency of accidental injury display specific psychological properties in characters and behaviors.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the difference of personality and behavioral characters between normal children and children with a tendency of accidental injury.DESIGN: Case controlled analysis based on suffered children and normal hildren.SETTING: Department of pediatric in a civic hospital.PARTICIPANTS: Totally 131 accidental injured children aged from 7 to 11 years were admitted at Tengzhou Civic center hospital between January and December 2001. Those with congenital intellectual disturbance and brain trauma were excluded and the rest 89 cases were asked to fill questionnaire, 8 were removed from the study due to unintegrated data and 81pieces of integral data were collected (reclaiming rate of 91.01%), including 50 males and 31 females with the mean age of (8.59±1.86) years, the intelligence quotient was(96±15) determined by Peabody picture vocabulary test(PPVT); and 81 children in control group matched in age and sex were selected from healthy children of school age without injury history and similar in some aspects, such as parents' culture degree, economic condition, educational state and the economic and culture state of inhabitancy with control group, including 45 males and 36 females with the mean age of (8.92±1.73) years, the intelligence quotient was(98±18) by PPVT. Two groups were matched in sex, age and IQ(P＞0.05).METHODS: Eysenck personality questionnaire and Achenback children behavioral rating scale(parents rating scale) were used.RESULTS: Data of two groups with 81 questionnaires in each entered into the final analysis without loss. ① Scores for psychoticisim, introverted and extroverted character and neurological quality in Esonk personality question naire were(50. 01±10.58, 55.19±12.1, 57.35±10.12) in injury group, higher than corresponding(45.63±13.81, 48.09±6.49, 50. 01±10.39)in control group( t = 2. 27-4.65, P＜0.05) . Scores for modified rating scale was(49.42±10.42) in control group, higher than(39.65±13.03)in injury group( P＜0.001); ② The median was found higher in hyperactivity, aggression, violation of discipline, bad communication, split anxiety,depression and physical complaint in boys of injury group; as well as in hyperactivity, cruelty, aggression, depression, physical complaint, social retreat, violation of law in girls of injury group, comparing to control group(P＜0.001); ③ Positive behavioral detecting rate of injury group was 32.09% (26/81), higher than 11.11% (9/81) of control group(P ＜0.001), OR was 3.78, and 95% CI was 1.66-8.59. Behavioral factors was proved of lower sensitivity(32. 1% ) with specificity of 88.9% and higher prognostic value of 74. 3%; ④ The mean score for Achenback children behavioral rating scale was(39. 84±10. 99) in boy which was obviously higher than(34.26 ± 10.43) in girls of injury group( P ＜0.05). The edian for violation of discipline and aggression in boys and depression in girls were significantly higher than the opposite sex group(P＜0.05 or 0.01) . The mean score for Achenback children behavioral rating scale was (37.62±11.03) in injury group, which were obviously higher than (17.77±12.12) of control group( P＜0.01) . ⑤Results of multiple factors Logistic analysis revealed that the risk factors for accidental injury included: aggression, hyperactivity and iolation of discipline in boys and aggression, violation of discipline and depression in girls.CONCLUSION: Children with a tendency of accidental injury has obvious ehavioral problems, behavioral factors were proved of lower sensitivity, but of igher specific positive prognostic value. Both boys and girls displayed speific characters in aggression and violation of discipline, and lack of pretendng capability comparing to normal children, thereby liable to response in on-rational manner.