Stress management in army aviation and an empirical assessment of aircrew stress

Abstract

There are many factors that affect our psychical, psychological, and behavioral condition. One of them is stress. Although today living without stress is almost impossible, sources of stress and its remedies vary with respect to job variation and individual perceptions. Aviation sector is one of the professions that have severe and continuous stress. Stress is an inevitable factor in a pilot's life. Its level affects performance as too much stress may detract from the pilot's ability; and not enough stress may cause boredom, less concentration and motivation. It has long been recognized that Army Pilots at all levels are subject to stress on and off the job, which can interfere with effective and efficient job performance as well as job satisfaction. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the causes of stress and their symptoms in pilots` life. The thesis is also intended to find the styles used by pilots to cope with stress conditions. For this reason a questionnaire was developed and administered to 121 aircrew members of Army Aviation School and Training Center Command. The questionnaire involves questions on the causes of stress, the ways to cope with stress conditions, and stress symptoms. After decreasing the number of variables by using factor analysis, scores on 24 scales within these 3 categories (causes of stress, coping styles, symptoms) were quantified and analyzed using descriptive analysis and correlation to reveal problem areas, strengths, and interrelationships. Recommendations also focused on how to use this information by the unit command to guide all efforts in minimizing unnecessary stress and to optimize crewmembers' ability to cope.