Role of Clinical-Psychological Examinations in Detection of a Propension to Deviant Behavior in Aviation Specialists

Abstract

One of the major concerns of the aviation health safety management is enhancement of the flight personnel medical certification system. The investigation was focused on individual typology of civil pilots prone to alcoholism. Subjects were 112 pilots suspected in alcohol abuse and 189 normal pilots as controls. The standard protocol of investigations was complemented by the clinical psychological tests including MMPI, Szondi test, H. Eysenck intelligence test, and projective drawing tests. It was proven that ethanol degrades pilot's personality. The initial stage of this process can be diagnosed using the clinical psychological tests listed above. The authors propose a testing algorithm for inclusion in the crew medical certification procedure.