Accession Number:

ADA370144

Title:

Job Demands, Duty Status, and Accident Rates tor U.S. Navy Enlisted Personnel

Descriptive Note:

Interim rept. Apr-Sep 98

Corporate Author:

NAVAL HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER SAN DIEGO CA

Personal Author(s):

• Vickers, Ross R., Jr.
• Hervig, Linda K.

Report Date:

1999-03-01

Pagination or Media Count:

30.0

Abstract:

U.S. Navy occupations with high on-duty accident rates also tend to have high off-duty accident rates. This association has been interpreted as evidence that some occupations attract personnel whose personality profile includes greater than average risk taking. This paper compared this personality trait interpretation with an alternative occupational learning interpretation that assumed that on-duty exposure to risks can teach risk taking The evidence indicated that 1 Occupational physical demands and reaction time demands predicted both on-duty and off-duty accident rates. 2 The partial correlation between on-duty and off-duty accident rates controlling for those two occupational demands was statistically nonsignificant. 3 A single factor model, such as that implied by the risk taking trait perspective, did not fit the data. The findings supported the view that occupational experiences are one basis for learning to take risks both on-duty and off duty.

Descriptors:

• *NAVAL PERSONNEL
• *PERSONALITY
• *ACCIDENTS
• JOBS
• RISK
• ENLISTED PERSONNEL
• ACTIVE DUTY

Subject Categories:

• Psychology
• Personnel Management and Labor Relations
• Safety Engineering

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE