Safety Locus of Control and Accident Involvement Among Army Aviators

Abstract

In this study we assessed the relationship between locus of control (LOC) and accident involvement among U.S. Army aviators. Two scales reflecting internality or externality were created based on a priori assignment of items. Items were also subjected to principal components analysis, and 6 empirical scales were identified from that analysis. Correlations were computed between the 2 a priori scales, the 6 empirical scales identified by the principal components analysis, involvement in hazardous events, and recent and total career accident involvement. Several of the LOC measures correlated significantly with recent accident involvement. However, only 1 measure was correlated with career accident involvement. Applications of the results in the development of safety training interventions and the evaluation of training programs are discussed.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was completed under a Small Business Innovative Research contract from the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences to Artis, LLC, Herndon, VA. This article represents the opinions of the authors and does not necessarily represent those of the U.S. Army or federal government. This research was completed while the first author, David R. Hunter, was at Artis, LLC, Reston, VA. David R. Hunter is now in private practice in Peoria, AZ.

Notes

¹Response rates for ARI Internet surveys range from 15% to 30%. Higher rates are typically associated with strong support from a general officer and multiple contacts requesting participation (R. Floden, personal communication, August 18, 2010). Neither of those conditions were present in this study.

²The choice of 15 items was arbitrary, and represented a balance between having enough items in the scale to assure good reliability and not placing too much burden on respondents in subsequent studies. The issue of scale length might be addressed using more formal methods in future research.