**Conflict of interest**

*Parenting - Studies by an Ecocultural and Transactional Perspective*

put children in AVs alone.

future studies.

**5. Conclusion**

Females are less ready to embrace AV technology [42, 46]. The significant interaction term of parent sex and ratings of concerns from the current analysis further suggests that mothers and mothers with higher levels of concerns are less willing to

Current finding also shows that individuals who obtained their first license at a relatively older age were more willing to use AVs to transport children unaccompanied. Even though literature has suggested that being older at licensure is related to fewer risky driving behaviors [47] and delayed licensure is associated with lower fatal crash rate [48], it is unclear how this association translates to an AV context. When including only about half of the data (model 5), that is, parents who had heard of AVs, believed AVs would become fully integrated in modern roadways by 2030, and had young children, similar relationships between willingness and exploratory variables remained, even though child restraint system and parent sex were no longer significant. These individuals are likely to be more concerned about AV use from a family perspective as they believe AVs would become a reality for them soon. As previously stated, this study and the nature of data collection had led to several limitations [22]. AVs and car features were broadly defined and described in the survey; participants' interpretations of the depicted AV and car features might differ. Also, even though 90.5% of the participants indicated having heard of AVs, the sources of knowledge and the degree of personal experience were unknown [24]. Therefore, this study could not directly quantify the association between AV exposure and willingness to use AV in a specific family perspective. In addition, the cross-sectional design of the study only allowed one-time evaluation of parents' imagined AV use. Their willingness might change with time, knowledge, and personal experience, as a previous study showed that experience with a travel mode may alter one's perception and future use of it [49]. Although our participants' willingness did not differ much from pre- to post-willingness, their perception of AV capability and hypothetical use might have changed and should be assessed in

This book chapter addresses issues related to parenting in the age of automated vehicles. The analysis shows that parents' concerns, assurance-related car features, parents' technology readiness, child restraint system use (as a proxy for child age), and parent sex are important variables for modeling parents' willingness to use AVs in the context of children's mobility. Future studies should continue to investigate the public's willingness, perceptions, and attitudes about AV use scenarios from multiple perspectives while taking into account personal and family characteristics. Similarly, children's perspectives about the use of AVs for mobility and transportation needs should also be examined. For example, future studies can compare the perceptions and perceived safety between riding a human-driver school bus vs. an automated school bus and being a passenger in an AV alone vs. having parents as passengers together. AV manufactures and regulatory agencies should carefully consider adding and evaluating car features, restraint systems, and support mechanisms that have the potentials to ensure child passenger safety, ease parents'

The author wishes to thank Somer Hand for her efforts in data collection.

concerns, and ultimately enhance children's mobility.

**160**

**Acknowledgements**

There is no known conflict of interest to disclose.
