The Resilience of Naval Specialists: Their Sense of Coherence and its Relationship with Measures of Personality

Wijk, Charles H. Van

doi:10.1177/008124630803800412

Cited by 8 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…IJOMEH 2014;27(6) 964 and hyperbaric injury, the low scores are contextually appropriate and support the outcomes of the previous studies [1,7,[10][11][12]17]. It has been suggested that standard deviations > 1.5 above the mean could be used as a cut-off point between clinical and non-clinical scores, to be consistent with the international use of other psychological measures [18].…”

Section: Objective 2: Value Of Entry Stpi Scores To Predict Qualificasupporting

confidence: 76%

“…The above studies concern the civilian (and mostly recreational) diving environment. The United States Navy divers traditionally report lower trait anxiety than norm groups [10], and South African Navy (SAN) divers and submariners on measures of generalized anxiety score lower than or close to general local population means [11]. Trait anxiety has further been associated with injury proneness during military diving training [12], and injured naval trainee divers report higher baseline (i.e., pre-course) trait anxiety scores than the non-injured trainees [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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The use of Spielberger’s State-Trait Personality Inventory (trait anxiety subscale) with naval subaquatic specialists

Wijk¹

2014

IJOMEH

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International Journal of Occupational Medicine and EnvironmentalAbstract Objectives: Panic behavior poses a particular threat to the health and safety of subaquatic occupational specialists. Trait anxiety has previously been identified as a marker of panic behavior under water, and Spielberger's State-Trait Personality Inventory (trait anxiety subscale) has been previously used to measure trait anxiety among subaquatic specialists. Using archived data, the trait anxiety scores of subaquatic specialists were analyzed to meet 3 objectives: 1stly -to develop a trait anxiety profile of subaquatic specialists; 2ndly -to investigate the predictive value of trait anxiety measures upon entering an occupational field; and 3rdly -to establish the reliability of these scores over time. Material and Methods: Archival trait-anxiety data from 322 subjects were analyzed statistically. Results: Analysis of the available scores revealed a highly homogenous as well as a very low trait anxiety profile for the investigated occupational group. Additionally, low trait anxiety was somewhat associated with success during specialist training: fewer candidates with high trait anxiety scores completed their qualification. Moreover, measurement of trait anxiety was stable over time, which suggests that when scores for this occupational group are screened, deviations from previous scores could signify a potential need for referral to an intervention from health professionals. Conclusions: Using the trait anxiety subscale as part of occupational health surveillance of subaquatic specialists could support prevention of accidents by identifying high-risk candidates during their annual health assessments, and referral for timeous intervention.

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Section: Objective 2: Value Of Entry Stpi Scores To Predict Qualificasupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The use of Spielberger’s State-Trait Personality Inventory (trait anxiety subscale) with naval subaquatic specialists

Wijk¹

2014

IJOMEH

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“…Likewise, certain dispositional traits associated with adaptive coping have been described among US Navy (USN) submarine crews, including detachment, propriety, and workaholism (Moes, Johnson, & Lall, 1996), and South African Navy (SAN) submariners, including adventurousness, confidence, group orientation, and precision (Van Wijk & Waters, 2000). Both SAN divers and submariners score high on sense of coherence scales, suggesting a positive dispositional orientation to life (Van Wijk, 2008).…”

Section: Coping In the Context Of Extreme Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Certain dispositional personality traits associated with adaptive coping have been described among military divers, including optimism, adventurousness, confidence, independence, and an internal locus of control (Beckman et al, 1996;Biersner & LaRocco, 1983;Van Wijk, 2008;Van Wijk & Waters, 2001). Likewise, certain dispositional traits associated with adaptive coping have been described among US Navy (USN) submarine crews, including detachment, propriety, and workaholism (Moes, Johnson, & Lall, 1996), and South African Navy (SAN) submariners, including adventurousness, confidence, group orientation, and precision (Van Wijk & Waters, 2000).…”

Section: Coping In the Context Of Extreme Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coping in Context: Dispositional and Situational Coping of Navy Divers and Submariners

Wijk¹,

Charles²

2017

Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments

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Specialists working in isolated, confined, and extreme environments may need to negotiate unique combinations of potentially stressful circumstances. This paper reports on three studies using the Brief COPE to examine some of the dispositional and situational coping strategies reported by navy divers and submariners.The first study investigated whether individual members of these specialist groups would favor similar coping response styles, and found that divers (N 5 174) and submariners (N 5 195) generally report similar coping styles, with some context appropriate nuances in their reports. Further, they share much of their profiles with other high-demand occupational settings, making their coping style profiles unique only in degree, rather than direction.The second study examined whether these navy specialists' coping response styles would be stable across time, and through repeat administration of the Brief COPE (N 5 237), found that they were remarkably stable over a period of almost 2 years.The third study investigated whether the same dispositional profile will be visible during specific submarine missions, or whether different, e.g., situational, coping strategies would be reported on board. Submariners appear to rely on similar coping strategies whether ashore or at sea, while also drawing on additional-and contextually appropriate-situational strategies while at sea. Thus while they rely on dispositional coping styles, they also seem responsive to changing environments during deployments.Practically, these findings could be used to assist divers and submariners to develop optimal coping strategies suited to their environments.

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“…In confined spaces, the promotion of social cohesion also needs to be balanced with the need for privacy in such environments. SAN submariners are characterized by high resilience (Van Wijk, 2008), and presumably have good self-regulating skills, which might make them dispositionally less demanding of the group's psychological resources. In spite of this, the demands of submarine operations and their associated stresses may require all to draw on the collective psychological resources of the group, to maintain effective coping.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘‘Covert Coping’’ in Extreme Environments: Insights from South African Submarines

Wijk¹,

Dalla²

2016

Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments

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Submariners are a group of people who live and work in enclosed habitats. In this confined environment, they need to balance the emotional needs of individuals with the resources of the group, to ensure effective coping for all. This study explored the mechanisms of maintaining this balance.Observations and a self-report measure (a modified Brief COPE) were used to describe the coping of submariners during deployment. Findings from the thematic analysis and self-report instrument are briefly described. An apparent contrast between the qualitative observations and quantitative data was noted, and when closely examined reveal two mechanisms whereby submariners managed their individual psychological needs without unbalancing the psychological state of the collective group. These were, firstly, the use of humor and talking nonsense as sublimated-or covert-way of venting emotions, and secondly, the use of rituals such as mealtimes as covert opportunities to provide and receive psychological support.This study illustrates how groups living in enclosed habitats may use covert mechanisms to cope with emotional needs, in order to maintain the emotional balance in the confined environment.

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The Resilience of Naval Specialists: Their Sense of Coherence and its Relationship with Measures of Personality

Cited by 8 publications

References 29 publications

The use of Spielberger’s State-Trait Personality Inventory (trait anxiety subscale) with naval subaquatic specialists

The use of Spielberger’s State-Trait Personality Inventory (trait anxiety subscale) with naval subaquatic specialists

Coping in Context: Dispositional and Situational Coping of Navy Divers and Submariners

‘‘Covert Coping’’ in Extreme Environments: Insights from South African Submarines

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