Mental health, physical symptoms and biomarkers of stress during prolonged exposure to Antarctica's extreme environment

Alfano, Candice A.; Bower, Joanne L.; Connaboy, Chris; Agha, Nadia H.; Baker, Forrest L.; Smith, Kyle A.; So, Christine J.; Simpson, Richard J.

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.01.051

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 48 publications

(60 reference statements)

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“…Although our sample was larger and more diverse compared to our previous validation studies (Bower et al, 2019), the participants of this study were predominately educated, Caucasian females. This is in direct contrast to our Antarctic validation sample (Alfano et al, 2021, Bower et al, 2019 who were predominantly male. This fact alone might partially explain mixed evidence for a good model fit.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 94%

“…The current study examined the reliability and convergent validity of the MHCL during COVID‐19 shelter‐in‐place orders in the United States and United Kingdom. All three MHCL subscales all exhibited good reliability consistent with prior studies (Alfano et al, 2021; Bower et al, 2019). Results of the confirmatory factor analysis were somewhat mixed in that not all indices suggested good fit for our model.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…The MHCL (Alfano et al, 2021; Bower et al, 2019) is a 23‐item, self‐report questionnaire originally developed for assessing mental health risk in extreme and stressful environmental settings. MHCL items are scored on an 11‐point Likert‐type scale ranging from 0 (“ never ”) to 10 (“ always ”) and summed to generate three subscale scores: positive adaptation (e.g., in full control, inspired, determined), poor self‐regulation (e.g., restless/fidgety, inattentive, sleepy), and anxious apprehension (e.g., worried, obsessional/stuck on things).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the absence of validated measures for assessing psychological health during periods of isolation and confinement, our group developed the Mental Health Checklist (MHCL; Alfano et al, 2021; Bower et al, 2019) which yields three reliable subscales measuring, positive adaptation, poor self‐regulation , and anxious apprehension . Strong reliability and convergent validity were found for the three MHCL subscales among crew members at two Antarctic stations, both upon arrival on station (Bower et al, 2019) and across several consecutive winter months (Alfano et al, 2021). The Antarctic represents one of the most extreme and stressful environments on earth, characterized by confinement due to harsh weather conditions, social isolation, and no or limited opportunity for departure during the winter months.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Validation of the Mental Health Checklist (MHCL) during COVID‐19 lockdown

Kim

Cifre

et al. 2021

Journal Community Psychology

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The COVID‐19 pandemic resulted in unprecedented disruption to everyday life, including widespread social distancing and self‐quarantining aimed at reducing the virus spread. The Mental Health Checklist (MHCL) is a measure developed to assess psychological health during extended periods of isolation and confinement, and has shown strong psychometric properties in community samples and during Antarctic missions. This study validated the MHCL in a sample of 359 U.S. and U.K adults during the peak of the COVID‐19 lockdown. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) tested model fit, and convergent validity analyses were conducted to compare the MHCL with validated measures of depression, anxiety and stress, as well as insomnia. The MHCL exhibited good model fit for most CFA indices, and showed strong convergent validity with other measures of psychological well‐being. Findings suggest that the MHCL is useful for assessing mental health in a variety of environments and conditions.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 94%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Validation of the Mental Health Checklist (MHCL) during COVID‐19 lockdown

Kim

Cifre

et al. 2021

Journal Community Psychology

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“…Alfano et al (2021);Chen, Wu, Li, Zhang, and Xu (2016);Cravalho (1996);Miroshnychenko et al (2020);Palinkas (2002;;Palinkas, Reed, and Do (1997);Sandal, van deVijver, and Smith (2018); Steinach and Gunga (2021); Suedfeld (1998); Chengli et al (2003) etc. Some of them, for example, Chen et al (2016) and Kuwabara et al (2021), study the processes of human adaptation to polar conditions.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Main features of expeditioners’personality traits in Antarctic conditions

Bakhmutova

2021

MHGCJ

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Introduction. Determining the benefits of basic human personality traits is one of the main components of the selection and staffing of small groups of peoples that are working in extreme environmental conditions and socio-spatial isolation. These groups include teams of polar explorers, scientists from outlying research bases, ship and submarine crews, and aircraft and space shuttles teams. Purpose. To identify the prevailing type of temperament of and personal changes in people working on the Antarctic station during a one-year period of isolation to develop measures to maintain their mental and physical health. Methodology. A total of 48 people (46 men and 2 women aged from 23 to 63 years) from four wintering teams of the Ukrainian Antarctic station (UAS) “Akademik Vernadsky” were voluntarily interviewed according to the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). The poll was conducted twice – before the departure to the Antarctic station and after their return after a year. Participants were studied in two groups (24 peoples) once again after a 6-month stay on the Antarctic station, to determine the level of psychoticism. The research was based on the analysis of preferences and changes in personality traits: Extraversion/Introversion, Neuroticism/Stability, and Psychoticism/Socialization. Results. Based on the analysis of indicators such as Extraversion/Introversion, Neuroticism/Stability, and Psychoticism/Socialization, we determined the general structure of the personal characteristics of the expeditioners. Indicators of these characteristics showed that more than a third of the expeditioners (36.1%) were pronounced extroverts. A majority (61.1%) of the respondents were characterized by an intermediate between extraversion and introversion, and only 2.8% were pronounced introverts. 58.4% of the respondents were characterized by a low level of neuroticism, while 33.3% were characterized by medium level of neuroticism. Only 8.3% were found to have a high level of neuroticism. Low levels of psychoticism were predominant in 56.3% of the respondents while the remaining 43.7% had medium levels of psychoticism. A high level of psychoticism was absent in the respondents which indicates a psychologically correct selection of the team. Analysis of the dynamics of psychoticism revealed that there were higher growth rates (+0.97) of average indexes of psychoticism during the first 6 months of the expeditioners’ stay at the Antarctic station than at the end of the activity. This was due to the “acute adaptation” period when the respondent fit in the natural conditions of Antarctica. Furthermore, there was a development of psychoticism in the expeditioners during the “polar night”; the growth rates of psychoticism decreased after adaptation. Conclusions. To maintain people’s mental health at the Antarctic station, it is optimal to select candidates for a one-year expedition with average rates of extraversion-introversion, and mostly low rates of neuroticism and psychoticism. These personal characteristics must be taken into account when forming an expedition team. The level of psychoticism during the expedition increases under the influence of the adverse environmental conditions of Antarctica and the socio-spatial isolation

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Emotional Highs and Lows

Kanas

2023

Behavioral Health and Human Interactions in Space

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Mental health, physical symptoms and biomarkers of stress during prolonged exposure to Antarctica's extreme environment

Cited by 17 publications

References 48 publications

Validation of the Mental Health Checklist (MHCL) during COVID‐19 lockdown

Validation of the Mental Health Checklist (MHCL) during COVID‐19 lockdown

Main features of expeditioners’personality traits in Antarctic conditions

Emotional Highs and Lows

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