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

• Students’ safety norm and attitude are strongly related to reading and following safety instructions.
• Sensation seeking is inversely related to reading and following safety instructions.
• Type A personality is not related to 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.