Prevention and resiliency: A cross cultural view of farmworkers' and farmers' beliefs about work safety

Two loci of control scales were adapted to farm safety for farmworkers and farmers in California. Internal and External dimensions and hazard coping strategies were used. Searching for Safety (SS), a behavioral strategy, involves planning for hazardous events. Accepting Danger (AD), a cognitive strategy, accepts uncertainty and the unpredictability of some events. Although workers scored high on internality, Externality was higher - this suggests that accident control is placed outside of themselves and given over to God, luck, or ''bosses.'' Farmworkers utilized AD and SS with equal success. Farmers scored higher on Internal beliefs, thus emphasizing personal control over safety, yet acknowledging worker responsibility. They placed more faith in their planning efforts (SS) than in the mental mechanism of accepting uncertainty (AD). Factor analyses showed the two scales successfully measured Internality and Externality and two coping strategies. Suggested improvements include standardizing one scale for both groups and identifying specific behaviors and mental strategies.