An assessment of Turkish Air Force pilots' anxiety and depression levels

A popular conception of good morale is the perception of well-being, lack of distress, and absence of anxiety and depression. Therefore, the term "morale" is related to anxiety and depression. The purpose of this survey is to assess stress levels numerically by using anxiety and depression scores. We surveyed 345 active duty Turkish Air Force pilots and 70 non-flying Air Force officers (who served as control group) in 1988. Spielberger's State Trait Personality Inventory (STPI-A Trait) and Zung's Depression Scale (ZDS) were applied to both groups. The flier group reflected lower scores than the non-fliers. Different explanations are available, but we believe the most likely to be related to higher motivation and job satisfaction as well as ego strengths of fliers. These factors can increase the ability to cope with stressful conditions.