Personality factors, stoicism and motivation in subjects under hypoxic stress in extreme environments

Previous studies on the physiological and psychological adaptation of subjects to survival conditions involving high-altitude hypoxia (>6,500 m) have shown that personality factors are important in this adaptation. We, therefore, proposed personality traits assessments in two groups of subjects engaged in sporting activities under extreme hypoxic environmental conditions: a group of mountaineers at high altitudes (>5,500 m) and a group of free-lung divers at great depths (<30-60 m). These subjects were compared with two control groups: a group of subjects practicing no sport and another one practicing various competitive athletic activities involving speed constraints. The personality traits assessed concerned mainly the subjects' attitudes and their propensities to act out their feelings and fantasies; they were assessed using projective procedures, the Hand Test and Clark's Situational Pain Questionnaire based on the Sensory Decision Theory. Subjects trained in mountaineering and free-lung diving under extreme environmental conditions displayed a high degree of stoicism. These individuals shared some personality traits with other sportsmen, particularly aggressive tendencies and introversion although not to an extent which interfered with normal interpersonal relationships. However, at least when practicing these extreme sports, the subjects did retreat from society. One of our questions concerns the grounds for this social withdrawal, that is, whether it derives from a inner compulsion founded on personality factors or if it is merely an artifact of our perceptions of the subjects, created by the confluence of the individualistic nature of these sports and the extreme environments in which they are performed.