Personality profiles of divers: integrating results across studies

Psychophysiological stress response in SCUBA divers: The contribution of negative automatic thoughts and negative emotions

The research questions in this study were to examine the contribution of negative automatic thoughts and negative emotions, measured by two newly-constructed questionnaires, to psychophysiological stress responses among more experienced military and less experienced recreational divers. Further, we examined whether daily variations in cortisol levels could be attributed to the impact of negative thoughts/emotions rather than diving experience. Altogether 15 recreational and 14 military male divers participated in the dive wherein stress responses were measured by anxiety measures (DASS-21 and STAI) and cortisol salivary concentrations. The results of factor analysis and principal component analysis demonstrated acceptable construct validity and internal consistency of both questionanires. Recreational and military divers did not differ significantly in the proportion of negative thoughts and emotions, while recreational divers had significantly higher levels of cortisol release after awakening and immediately before/after diving, indicating their more intense stress responses. A significant interaction between daily variations in cortisol secretion and negative emotions indicated a greater importance of emotions in response to diving stress rather than diving experience. Accordingly, using a multiple regression analysis showed that more pre-diving negative emotions predicted higher levels of pre-diving anxiety and depression as well as more cortisol release. More negative thoughts predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms, while belonging to a group of recreational divers was a significant predictor of higher pre-diving anxiety. This study points to the importance of considering cognitive and emotional experiences, particularly in recreational divers, for the purpose of prevention of negative psychophysiological stress responses prior to diving.

Associations Between Adverse Underwater Events and ADHD Diagnosis Among Military Divers

Objective: Adult ADHD (A-ADHD) has been associated with an increased risk of accidents and workplace injuries. ADHD within professional diving may have major potential occupational health and safety implications, as accidents underwater may have severe consequences. The study investigated any association of increased risk for adverse underwater incidents with an ADHD diagnosis. Method: This analysis used retrospective records from 156 navy divers and computed an odds ratio using cases of ADHD and cases of underwater accidents. Results: Although the odds ratio was increased, it failed to reach significance. Conclusion: We do not yet have statistical evidence suggesting that the risk for adverse underwater events is significantly increased among the ADHD group in this sample of navy divers. Sufficiently powered studies are required to further address the potential risk of A-ADHD in working divers.

Common mental health conditions among navy divers: A brief report

INTRODUCTION

A recent article reported on common mental health conditions among recreational scuba divers, and observed that the prevalence mirrored national population figures. This raised the question of the extent to which this might also be the case among professional divers. No data on commercial divers could be located; this paper presents the situation among navy divers.

METHODS

Mental health survey data from 132 South African Navy divers were reviewed to describe the 12-month prevalence of common mood, anxiety, and alcohol misuse disorders.

RESULTS

Prevalence of common mood and anxiety conditions appeared to reflect local general population estimates, and the occurrence of alcohol misuse was higher than local population figures, although the usefulness of the population data could be challenged.

CONCLUSIONS

It appeared that common mental health conditions in both sport and navy divers may generally conform to their respective local general population estimates. If this were to be the case in the broader professional diving environment as well, the inclusion of some form of formal mental health screening during commercial diving medical examinations may be beneficial.

The problem of experiencing anxiety among divers. Experiment in hyperbaric exposure conditions

The aim of the article is a review of psychological literature relating to the problem of anxiety in divers, where an emphasis is placed on the degree of mental adaptation of the individual to the underwater environment, primarily highlighting the trait of anxiety and the neuroticism of a person involved in a specific type of diving. The article presents selected reports from all over the world regarding research on anxiety in divers. Treating a high level of the indicator of anxiety as a predictor of panic anxiety reveals the importance of this trait in predicting the risk of an occurrence of diving accidents during the operation under water. In the own research presented in the article, the results on the levels of anxiety as a trait and a state in divers taking part in hyperbaric exposures indicate the fact that the majority of the examined divers have low levels of anxiety both as a trait and a state, which most probably indicates the good psychological condition of the examined divers.