Psychiatric aspects of adaptation to long submarine missions

The case histories of 261 submarines disqualified psychiatrically for further submarine duty revealed that the major symptomatology was emotional in nature, with character pathology second in frequency. The latter pathology resulted in disqualification much earlier than the former, a fact indicative of effective neurotic defenses. The submariners who show these slow-developing neurotic symptoms appear to be reacting maladaptively to the stresses of the 60-d submarine patrols. Some etiological factors appear to be related to the role of man occupies within the crew, to the nature of the mission itself and, perhaps, to the length of the submarine patrols.