Nevertheless, whether or not well-compensated, workers‘ willingness to assume risks is something that can not be directly observed. Some authors, such as DeLeire and Levy
(2004) try to approach it using family structure. They assume that workers take their families into account when exposing themselves to occupational hazards. Workers that have children, especially single mothers and fathers tend to be more risk adverse. Yet, as Dávila et al. (2011) point out, this relationship can be ambiguous. On the one hand, married workers or those with children could be less willing to accept occupational risk for fear of being injured or killed. On the other hand, these workers may become less risk- adverse as they are obliged to find a job to provide for their children.