Citation

Westaby JD, Lee BC. J. Saf. Res. 2003; 34(3): 227-240.

Affiliation

Program in Social-Organizational Psychology, Department of Organization and Leadership, Teachers College, Columbia University, Box 6, 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, USA. westaby@columbia.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, U.S. National Safety Council, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12963069

Abstract

PROBLEM: Injuries are the leading cause of death for adolescents in the United States. METHODS: This study longitudinally examined three psychological mediators of injury among 3,081 youths in agricultural settings: (a) safety consciousness, (b) dangerous risk taking, and (c) safety knowledge. These variables are examined within a nomological network of contextual variables. RESULTS: Cross-sectional results revealed that safety consciousness and dangerous risk taking were the strongest predictors of reported injury at Time 1 and Time 2. Safety knowledge had an unexpected negative association with injury, albeit weak. As predicted, participating in safety activities was positively associated with safety consciousness, and time spent working was strongly associated with safety knowledge. Furthermore, self-esteem had both positive and negative safety outcomes, suggesting a more complex functioning. Males exhibited fewer safety cognitions than females as predicted. Longitudinal data also revealed that injury at Time 1 and dangerous risk taking were the strongest predictors of Time 2 injury. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Results from this study emphasize the importance of assessing dangerous risk-taking perceptions when attempting to predict future injuries.