Pregnancy and Workplace Accidents: The Impact of Stereotype Threat

Details

• Personal Author:
  Lavaysse LM ; Probst TM
• Description:
  This study examines the impact of stereotype threat (ST), the fear of confirming negative assumptions about a group to which one belongs (Steele, C. M. [1997]. A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 52(6), 613-629), on the safety performance of pregnant workers. To avoid being stereotyped, pregnant employees may engage in concealing or supra-performance as coping strategies, which is predicted to jeopardise their safety. The strength and direction of the proposed causal relationships was tested using a rigorous longitudinal design with survey data from pregnant employees working in physically demanding jobs at three separate time points over two months (N1 = 402; N2 = 229; N3 = 191). Latent growth curve modelling analysis indicated that ST is associated with greater use of concealment and supra-performance as coping strategies, as well as more experienced workplace accidents. Moreover, supra-performance appears to partially account for the relationship between ST and accidents. Scientifically, this study uniquely contributes to the literature by bridging two areas of research (stereotype threat and occupational safety) that have largely proceeded independently of each other. Given that pregnant workers represent a vulnerable and increasing sector of the workforce, it is critical to establish an empirical basis that can inform targeted and strategic interventions for improving the safety and health of pregnant employees. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Occupational Health Pregnancy Safety Stress, Psychological
• Keywords:
  Accidents Accident Statistics Author Keywords: Occupational Health Coping Behavior Group Dynamics Job Stress Longitudinal Study Occupational Psychology Safety Stereotype Threat Worker Safety

  More +
• ISSN:
  0267-8373
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 4 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  93-109
• Volume:
  35
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20068362
• Citation:
  Work Stress 2021 Jan; 35(1):93-109
• Contact Point Address:
  Lindsey M. Lavaysse, Department of Psychology, Washington State University Vancouver, Vancouver, WA, USA
• Email:
  lindsey.lavaysse@wsu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Work and Stress
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c6ba302739c66df7cd6f69354ba04a70f31444c04ef087e18e4ac2a1300fbbbc33a7496d24dc8cf3858981ef28b52c01395f2e55d80cf70662e52679e1524c2e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/230526/cdc_230526_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.43 MB ]