Although Risk-Compensation- respectively Risk-Homeostasis-Theory (RCT/RHT) has attracted much scientific and public attention with regard to road safety issues, no one so far tries to extend this theoretical concept to other spheres where people are also confronted with hazards, e.g. work situations. This paper undertakes the attempt to develop some categories to build a set of variables that could be used for testing RCT/RHT assumptions within industrial settings. A case study shows how findings might be interpreted by the suggestion of a compensatory (behavioral) process, but also through other theoretical explanations. The conclusion is that the adaption of RCT/RHT to occupational safety needs additional theoretical effort as well as empirical research in various spheres of industrial production. (Author/publisher) For the covering abstract see IRRD 870346.
Samenvatting