SEAT BELT USE INTENTION AMONG BRAZILIAN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS/ INTENCIóN DE USO DEL CINTURóN DE SEGURIDAD EN ESTUDIANTES UNIVERSITARIOS BRASILE OS/ INTEN O DE USO DO CINTO DE SEGURAN A EM ESTUDANTES UNIVERSITáRIOS BRASILEIROS

The objectives of this study were to explore selfreported seat belt use and group differences in different scenarios in a Brazilian sample and research the variables related to it. 120 college students answered a questionnaire with variables from the theory of planned behavior in order to evaluate the intention of seat belt use among car occupants. Results indicated that attitude and intention were the variables that most contributed to explaining seat belt use. Intention was highly correlated with seat belt use, and attitude was correlated with intention. Seat belt use was more frequent among drivers and taxi passengers, but not among front and rear seat passengers. The article discusses the implications of the findings for possible interventions to encourage the use of seat belts among drivers and passengers.