Inadequate human actions are still the main cause of all reported accidents and incidents on board ships. The aim of this study is to explore the influence of safety resource activities and other exploratory variables on seafarers’ safety behaviour. For this study, a series of open-ended interviews were conducted to gain insight into how shipping organisations struggle with this issue. Following the interviews, a questionnaire was prepared and distributed to professional seafarers. Two exploratory factor analyses were conducted to identify the underlying factor structure and five factors emerged. Furthermore, three hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the influence of the factors obtained, namely, Company safety orientation and Additional safety incentives on seafarers’ perceived Safety awareness, Job satisfaction, Risk acceptance and other exploratory variables. The study shows that the perceived resource-related activities of the organisation and the demographic characteristics of the respondents can influence the safety behaviour of seafarers.

Background: Safety behaviours are ubiquitous across anxiety disorders and are associated with the aetiology, maintenance and exacerbation of anxiety. Cognitive behavioural models posit that beliefs about safety behaviours directly influence their use. Therefore, beliefs about safety behaviours may be an important component in decreasing safety behaviour use. Unfortunately, little empirical research has evaluated this theorized relationship.

Aims: The present study aimed to examine the predictive relationship between beliefs about safety behaviours and safety behaviour use while controlling for anxiety severity.

Method: Adults with clinically elevated levels of social anxiety (n = 145) and anxiety sensitivity (n = 109) completed an online survey that included established measures of safety behaviour use, quality of life, and anxiety severity. Participants also completed the Safety Behaviour Scale (SBS), a measure created for the current study which includes a transdiagnostic checklist of safety behaviours, as well as questions related to safety behaviour use and beliefs about safety behaviours.

Results: Within both the social anxiety and anxiety sensitivity groups, positive beliefs about safety behaviours predicted greater safety behaviour use, even when controlling for anxiety severity. Certain beliefs were particularly relevant in predicting safety behaviour use within each of the clinical analogue groups.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that efforts to decrease safety behaviour use during anxiety treatment may benefit from identifying and modifying positive beliefs about safety behaviours.

Cognitive theories of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) posit that cognitive and behavioural factors maintain the disorder. This study examined whether avoidance and safety behaviours mediated the relationship between cognitive factors and GAD symptoms. We also examined the reverse mediation model; that is, whether cognitive factors mediated the relationship between maladaptive behaviours and GAD symptoms. Undergraduate psychology students (N = 125 and N = 292) completed the Worry Behaviours Inventory (a recently developed measure of maladaptive behaviours associated with GAD), in addition to measures of intolerance of uncertainty, cognitive avoidance, metacognitive beliefs, and symptoms of GAD and depression. Analyses supported the reliability and validity of the WBI. We consistently found that engagement in maladaptive behaviours significantly mediated the relationship between cognitive factors and symptoms of GAD. The reverse mediation model was also supported. Our results are consistent with the contention that cognitive and behavioural factors contribute to GAD symptom severity.