Preliminary Investigation into Stress in Australian Antarctic Expeditioners

摘要

Self-report measures, administered within a broad before and after design, were used to investigate the experience of stress for the three samples (Before Departure, After Arrival, and Previous Expeditioners of Australian Antarctic expeditioners. Many common sources of pressure referred, as in previous studies, to aspects of the social environment. Neither Before Departure, nor After Arrival, did expeditioners anticipate the degree of pressure arising from this source. Additionally, task-related factors were more clearly identified as sources of pressure than in previous studies. Few differences were found on independent variables of age, marital status, occupational category, and single expenditioners reported 'Separation from my family and friends in Australia' as a source of pressure. There were high correlations between before and after samples on the rank order of 12 statements relating to specific aspects of station life on the same statements all samples consistently, and significantly, rated Others as experiencing stress more frequently than Self, suggesting a coping strategy based on comparison with others. A mood questionnaire, administered before departure and after arrival, indicated low levels of stress and high levels of arousal, and differences in arousal but not stress, between administrations. The results suggest, inter alia, the need for further research on the relationship between performance and both stress and arousal in the Antarctic context.