Factorial structure of Safety Climate scales. A pilot study in Italian metal-mechanic sector

A pilot study concerning factorial structure of Safety Climate scales is conducted to verify if safety climate has a single factor structure, as suggested in some studies (e.g. Zohar & Luria, 2005), or a more complex one, that can allow practitioners to use the safety climate scales as diagnostic tools, sensitive to specific facets (Griffin & Neal, 2000). A questionnaire composed of two scales (Organizational Safety Climate scale (OSC scale, 17 items) and Supervisor Safety Climate scale (SSC scale, 12 items)) were identified merging items from existing Safety Climate Scales (Zohar & Luria, 2005; Griffin & Neal, 2000). Results from 1312 workers of the Italian metal-mechanic sector supported the hypothesis of a second-order factor comprised of more specific first-order factors