ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses actively caring behavior as it relates to injury prevention. Five person states were proposed as influencing people's willingness to actively care — self-esteem, self-efficacy personal control, optimism, and belonging. Each of these person variables has a rich research history in psychology and some of this research relates directly to the actively caring model. Research that tested relationships between person states and actual behavior has generally supported the actively caring model. Research shows that people with high self-esteem report fewer negative emotions and less depression than people with low self-esteem. It is possible to increase personal responsibility for safety by helping people understand the fundamental emotional problem at the root of all safety intervention. Safety requires impulse control under the most difficult circumstances. The increasingly popular and research-supported concept of emotional intelligence relates directly to the actively caring model and to improving safety at work, at home, and on the road.
