From a Personal Commitment to a Safety Scale: Development and Validation of a Self-Reported Safety Practices Scale for Latino Day Laborers

Abstract

Latino Day Laborers (LDL) experience high rates of occupational injury while navigating worksite hazards without adequate safety equipment or training. As such, LDL implement simple safety behaviors which may not reflect standardized labor safety practices. This study aims to demonstrate the validity of a scale measuring LDL safety practices. A 22-item scale was developed through qualitative analysis of interviews with LDL. We first validated our scale in a cross-sectional study with 149 LDL. After conducting exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, a final 15-item safety practices scale emerged. Lastly, we cross-validated our scale with a second sample of 318 LDL. The EFA resulted in three distinct dimensions of safety practices: preparation safety, harm mitigation, and proactive communication. The CFA results from both samples supported a three-factor model. Our study provided evidence for a valid and reliable scale to measure the safety practices of LDL.