Personality differences in the psychological fitness for military diving.

Abstract

Diving is an attractive activity, which is becoming increasingly more popular in sports and professional fields. This popularity sometimes decreases the awareness that is developed in a non-natural environment, full of stressors, which requires an adaptive process by the divers to make the most of their capabilities and control their emotions. This paper, following the line of research of individual differences, analyses data coming from a large sample of military personnel who perform diving courses (N = 1217) in order to verify the utility of psychological evaluation in this field. Differences between divers and general population, between candidates who have completed dive training and candidates who did not, and also between divers with different levels of performance have been proved. The most important differences in personality characteristics have statistical and clinical significance for adaptation to the demands of the underwater environment. The resulting data support the importance of anxiety and emotional reactions in diving and the convenience of evaluating the psychological fitness of those who engage in this activity, as one of the first preventive measures against possible incidents and accidents in diving. © 2012: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Murcia.