Aircrew wives and the intermittent husband syndrome

A survey of commercial airline wives compared aircrew with groundcrew families, using a simple self-rating questionnaire. Aircrew wives were found to have slept significantly less well the night before completion of the questionnaire than groundcrew wives (poorer vs. better: 16/41 aircrew, 5/59 groundcrew, p = 0.02), although aircrew wives showed no difference in sleep during the preceding week. Aircrew wives had a lower sense of well-being than groundcrew wives (poorer vs. better: 12/45 wives, 6/58 groundcrew, p = 0.06), and those less than 40 years of age had a poorer mood (poorer vs. better: 7/21 aircrew, 2/28 groundcrew p = 0.05). The similarities with the intermittent husband syndrome described in oil workers (being like a one-parent family, difficulty in involving the husband in things he has missed whilst away, isolation, and feeling upset and rejected when the husband returns and is tired,) are discussed. The effect on aviator stress, flight safety, and the implications for the general practitioner and airline industry are described. General practitioners need to be aware of the possibility that an aviator's spouse is presenting in the office due to the stresses of her husband's occupation on her life. Airlines need to consider how to minimize the effect of frequent separations on their aircrews' wives and families: in particular using forward planning, not changing rosters at the last moment and encouraging a closer relationship with the airline through involvement in the aviators' work.