Military 'Special Forces' represent a high-reliability occupation, where stress levels are often intense and failure can be costly. Selection for such jobs should pay careful attention to psychological factors associated with resiliency under stress. In the present study, US Army Special Forces candidates (N ¼ 1138) were assessed for psychological hardiness using a short form of the Dispositional Resilience Scale, and these scores were then applied to predict successful completion of the course. Independent sample t-tests and logistic regression analyses confirmed that Special Forces course graduates are significantly higher in psychological hardiness, as compared to non-graduates. Psychological hardiness appears to be an important individual characteristic associated with stress tolerance and successful performance in highly demanding occupations.
The findings support previous research indicating that emotion-regulation difficulties are broadly associated with alcohol-related consequences. Results suggest exposure and/or mindfulness based prevention/interventions with emotion focused psychoeducation may offer one path to reducing alcohol-related consequences among college students.
Space travel presents a number of environmental challenges to the central nervous system, including changes in gravitational acceleration that alter the terrestrial synergies between perception and action, galactic cosmic radiation that can damage sensitive neurons and structures, and multiple factors (isolation, confinement, altered atmosphere, and mission parameters, including distance from Earth) that can affect cognition and behavior. Travelers to Mars will be exposed to these environmental challenges for up to 3 years, and space-faring nations continue to direct vigorous research investments to help elucidate and mitigate the consequences of these long-duration exposures. This article reviews the findings of more than 50 years of space-related neuroscience research on humans and animals exposed to spaceflight or analogs of spaceflight environments, and projects the implications and the forward work necessary to ensure successful Mars missions. It also reviews fundamental neurophysiology responses that will help us understand and maintain human health and performance on Earth.
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