Part-Time Farmers and Accidents with Agricultural Machinery: A Moderated Mediated Model on the Role Played by Frequency of Use and Unsafe Beliefs.

Objectives: We aimed at testing a model of the direct and indirect effects of being a part-time 28 farmer on the probability of being involved in an agricultural machinery-related accident, 29 considering the role played by unsafe beliefs and the frequency of use of machinery. 30 Methods: Two-hundred and fifty-two Italian men, regular users of agricultural machinery 31 (age: Mean = 45.1 years, standard Deviation = 17.5), were administered a paper-and-pencil 32 questionnaire addressing their relation with work, unsafe beliefs, and previous experience of 33 machinery-related accidents. 34 Results: Being a part-time farmer showed a positive association with unsafe beliefs only 35 among occasional machinery users. Unsafe beliefs in turn showed a positive association with 36 accidents. 37 Conclusions: The study gave a novel contribution to the knowledge of the chain of events 38 connecting part-time farmers with machinery-related accidents. Preventive training 39 interventions targeting part-timer farmers using agricultural machinery just occasionally 40 should be developed.