Date of Award
12-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Industrial-Organizational Psychology
Committee Chair/Advisor
Patrick Rosopa, PhD
Committee Member
Thomas Britt, PhD
Committee Member
Jenna Van Fossen, PhD
Committee Member
Chris Flathmann, PhD
Abstract
Maritime Sailors operate in high-demand and high-risk environments that require sustained adherence to strict safety standards. Using the Conservation of Resources theory (COR), this dissertation examines how supportive workplace practices impact job stress and foster increased safety compliance among U.S. Navy personnel. Using a mixed-methods design, two studies were conducted with data from the Afloat Safety Climate Assessment Survey (ASCAS). Study 1 analyzed quantitative survey responses from active-duty Sailors (N = 15,517) nested in 1,033 departments nested within 122 ships to test a multilevel moderated mediation model linking social support, job stress, psychological safety, and safety compliance. Results indicated that social support was negatively related to job stress and positively related to safety compliance, with job stress partially mediating this relationship. Department-level psychological safety moderated the relationship between job stress and safety compliance. Study 2 analyzed open-ended responses from Sailors (N = 600) using tetrachoric correlations to test the hypothesized model via path analysis. Consistent with Study 1, social support was negatively associated with job stress and job stress was negatively associated with safety compliance, though indirect effects were nonsignificant. Together, findings across both studies underscore the importance of supportive workplace practices as critical resources that buffer stress and promote safety behavior, while also highlighting the complex role of psychological safety. In doing so, this dissertation contributes to theory by extending COR to military safety research and offers practical guidance on fostering supportive climates that protect Sailors’ well-being and enhance operational performance.
Recommended Citation
Pool, Rebecca N., "Navigating Safety: A Mixed-Methods Examination of Supportive Workplace Practices in Maritime Contexts" (2025). All Dissertations. 4102.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/4102