Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
Institute for Maritime Medicine, Simon's Town, South Africa.
Int Marit Health. 2023;74(1):45-53. doi: 10.5603/IMH.2023.0005.
Seafarers, whether on cargo, fishery, or naval ships, may be exposed to unique and unusual psychological demands related to the often isolated, confined, and extreme environments associated with ocean-going vessels. This necessitates optimal psychological adaptation to maintain individual well-being during the mission and afterwards. This study set out to explore whether psychometric measures could predict psychological adaptation of seafarers, specifically navy sailors, during and after maritime operations. It used emotional regulation as marker of adaptation, and examined the role of psychometric measures of dispositional resilience and emotional regulation to predict psychological adaptation at subsequent time-points.
A total of 168 sailors completed the Brief Sailor Resiliency Scale, Dispositional Resilience Scale 15, and Mental Toughness Questionnaire 18 prior to departing for sea, as well as the Brunel Mood Scale at 5 time points over a 12-month operational cycle.
Higher resilience scores were consistently associated with more adaptive emotional regulation. Multiple linear regressions indicated that the Brief Sailor Resiliency Scale predicted emotional regulation over the shorter term, while the Mental Toughness Questionnaire 18 predicted emotional regulation over the longer term. Further, mid-mission emotional regulation also predicted emotional regulation at the end of deployments.
The findings support several practical applications. Firstly, formal organizational initiatives to promote resilience could be useful to enhance adaptation during and after missions. Secondly, measuring seafarers' dispositional resilience could allow the streaming of vulnerable individuals towards appropriate mental health support services. Thirdly, past indicators of adaptation could be useful to enhance decision- making regarding subsequent utilisation. This may be applicable to seafarers in both naval services and commercial shipping, and to personnel in remote weather stations or other isolated and inaccessible research facilities.
海员，无论是在货船、渔船还是军舰上，都可能面临与海洋船舶相关的独特和不寻常的心理需求，这些需求通常与隔离、封闭和极端环境有关。这就需要进行最佳的心理适应，以维持任务期间和之后的个人健康。本研究旨在探讨心理测量是否可以预测海员（特别是海军水手）在海上行动期间和之后的心理适应。它使用情绪调节作为适应的标志物，并研究了性格韧性和情绪调节的心理测量指标在随后的时间点预测心理适应的作用。
共有 168 名水手在出海前完成了《简明水手适应量表》《性格韧性量表 15》和《心理坚韧度问卷 18》，以及在 12 个月的作战周期内的 5 个时间点上完成了《布鲁内尔情绪量表》。
更高的适应力得分始终与更适应的情绪调节有关。多元线性回归表明，《简明水手适应量表》在短期内预测情绪调节，而《心理坚韧度问卷 18》在长期内预测情绪调节。此外，中期任务的情绪调节也预测了部署结束时的情绪调节。
这些发现支持了几种实际应用。首先，促进适应力的正式组织举措可能有助于提高任务期间和之后的适应能力。其次，测量海员的性格韧性可以使脆弱个体得到适当的心理健康支持服务。第三，过去的适应指标可能有助于增强关于后续利用的决策。这可能适用于海军和商业航运的海员，以及在偏远气象站或其他隔离和难以进入的研究设施的人员。
