Understanding the impact of stressors on safety behavior of Chinese special equipment operators: a transactional theory of stress perspective

Introduction: Special equipment operator safety behavior is a critical factor in preventing accidents involving special equipment. To mitigate such incidents, it is essential to understand and address the stress and coping mechanisms of operators. This study, grounded in the transactional theory of stress (TTS), aims to identify the stressors associated with special equipment operators and to examine the relationships between these stressors, cognitive appraisal, coping strategies, and safety behavior. Methods: This research employed a quantitative method, with data collected through a questionnaire survey, a total 735 validity responses was collected and analyzed using SmartPLS. Results: The results demonstrate that low social status (LSS), harsh working environments (HWE), physiological fatigue (PF), and responsibility pressure (RP) are significant stressors for special equipment operators. Moreover, the study reveals that emotion-focused coping mediates the relationships between threat appraisal (TA) and safety behavior, as well as between harm appraisal and safety behavior. In addition, problem-focused coping is found to mediate the relationship between challenge appraisal (CA) and safety behavior. Furthermore, government intervention is shown to negatively moderate the relationship between emotion-focused coping and safety behavior. Discussion: This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the transactional theory of stress and provides practical insights for accident prevention, offering valuable guidance for enhancing occupational safety.