Personality and coping strategies during submarine missions

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Occupational Health
• Military Science

Background:

• Understanding the relationship between personality and coping is vital for personnel selection in high-stress environments.
• Previous research has explored personality and coping, but specific applications to military settings require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between personality profiles (Personality Characteristics Inventory - PCI) and coping strategies (Utrecht Coping List - UCL).
• To examine the predictive validity of PCI and UCL for stress, health complaints, and salivary cortisol in submarine missions.
• To identify key characteristics for selecting personnel for prolonged stress and isolation.

Main Methods:

• Administered PCI and UCL to submarine personnel and office employees before missions.
• Collected weekly questionnaires on stress and health complaints.
• Collected weekly salivary cortisol samples during three submarine missions.

Main Results:

• No significant direct relations were found between PCI profiles and habitual coping strategies.
• Interpersonal orientation, achievement motivation, and habitual coping strategies predicted coping effectiveness during missions.
• Problem-directed coping, interpersonal sensitivity, and strong achievement motivation were associated with lower stress from social factors and homesickness.

Conclusions:

• Interpersonal characteristics and motivation are key predictors of stress management in isolated, high-stress military environments.
• These findings support the consideration of interpersonal traits in the selection of submariners and similar military personnel.
• Future selection protocols should incorporate assessments of interpersonal orientation and achievement motivation for demanding operational settings.