The association between students’ characteristics and their reading and following safety instructions.

Previous studies have demonstrated that reading and following safety instructions, such as warning labels and product manuals, may serve as a defense against hazards and can prevent injuries. This paper examines the predictive value of four factors that might determine whether students read and follow safety instructions: students’ safety norm, students’ safety attitude, the sensation seeking trait and type A personality. Our investigation was carried out with 172 university students (mean age = 20.01, SD = 1.56) who participated in a paper-and-pencil survey. Regression analyses revealed that students’ safety norm and attitude were positively related to reading and following safety instructions, while sensation seeking was inversely related. Type A personality had no predictive value. Our statistical findings further revealed that female students read and follow more safety instructions than male students. Based on these research results, recommendations are formulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]