The Society For
Human Performance In Extreme Environments
Psychobiological factors related to performance and panic in scuba diving (in press). Raglin, J.S. In: R.S. Jensen (Ed.), Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Aviation Psychology . Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press. Abstract featured in this issue of Human Performance in Extreme Environments v 2(1). Featured Abstracts section, p. 69. Psychological factors, particularly anxiety and panic, have been implicated in up to 40% of deaths in recreational scuba diving . A national survey revealed that 54% of recreational divers reported having at least one situation in which they panicked on a dive. Psychological profiles of divers reveal characteristics expressed by those divers most likely to panic underwater.
Human performance in deep underwater diving (1997). Lorenz, B. Human Performance in Extreme Environments , v 2(1), June 1997, p. 68 (in Featured Abstracts section in this issue). Discusses saturation diving, and how saturation divers must adapt to multiple sources of environmental stress including pressure, the compression profile, the gases breathed, performance decrements, and physical manifestations arising from the associated environmental stressors.
Diving medicine (1997). Bove, A.A. and 24 additional contributors. Third Edition, available through W.B. Saunders Company, phone 1 -800-545-2522 or fax 1-800-874-6418 to order (mention DM#40255). (415 pp./$65) Managing divers and their sport-related conditions is supported by this handbook which enables you to determine the fitness of a patient to take up, continue, or resume diving. It helps physicians anticipate the spectrum of problems their patients may present. Diving Medicine retains its clinical orientation and comprehensive approach to the physiology of diving, the disorders related to diving, as well as the interaction of diving and chronic medical disorders. Contents: History - history of diving and diving medicine. Diving Mechanics - diving physics, equipment, mixed gas diving, breath-hold diving. Human Performance - human performance under water, women in diving, the elderly and the young in diving. Diving-related Disorders, Medical disorders , and Medical Evaluation.
Diving the wreck: Risk and injury in sport scuba diving (1996). Hunt, J.C. Psychoanalytic Quarterly . v 65(3), p. 591-622. Uses psychoanalytic theory to examine risk and injury in the case of a male deep sea diver's near fatal diving incident. Examines psychoanalytic conflicts that may have lead to the near fatal incident of decompression sickness. Results from interviews with and fieldwork among 36 recreational and deep divers is presented.
Anxiety and panic in recreational scuba divers (1995). Morgan, W.P. Sports Medicine, v 20(6). Also reprinted in Human Performance in Extreme Environments, v 1(2), November 1996, p. 20-35. Analyzes the role of anxiety and panic in recreational diving fatalities. Offers an understanding of the behavioral and performance issues associated with operating self-contained breathing apparatus (SCUBA), and illustrates how stress and anxiety can mediate the performance of users operating such systems. Outlines the psychological characteristics of scuba divers, and offers interventions for training divers to cope with panic and anxiety occurring underwater.
The relationship between the US Navy fleet diver physical screening test and job task performance (1995). Marcinik, E.J., Hyde, D.E., & Taylor, W.F. Aviation, Space & Environmental Medicine, v 66(4), p. 320-324. The development of job-related selection and training methods will improve safety and lead to substantial cost savings to the US Navy through enhanced screening and productivity. This investigation determined the extent to which the current U.S. Navy fleet diver physical screening test predicted performance of five representative physically demanding job tasks. Results indicated that the current Navy fleet diver physical screening test has limited utility for physical selection purposes and underscores the need for developing a requirements-based selection battery to ensure that diver physical capabilities are aligned to the job.
Analyses of variables underlying U.S. Navy diving accidents (1985). Blood, C., & Hoiberg, A. Undersea Biomedical Research , v 12(3), p. 351-360. Examined US Navy diving logs to determine the most frequently occurring diving accidents and to identify significant underlying factors. Decompression sickness and barotraumas were the most prevalent. For extended findings, see Diving accidents: Analyses of underlying variables reference (below).
Diving accidents: Analyses of underlying variables (May 1984). Blood, C., & Hoiberg, A. US Naval Health Research Center Report No. 84-14 (13p). Examined environmental conditions and US Navy diver-related factors for 706,259 dives and 1,174 diving mishaps that occurred between 1968 and 1981. Accident rates were computed for various factors related to the mishaps including dive depth, dive purpose, time of day, decompression schedule type, time submerged, air temperature, surface water temperature, bottom water temperature, age, height, weight, and recent diving experience. Among other findings, decompression sickness and barotrauma were the most prevalent diving incidents.
Comparisons of performance effectiveness among divers (1980). Biersner, R.J., Dembert, M.L., & Browning, M.D. Aviation, Space, & Environmental Medicine. v 51(11), p. 1193-1196. Comparisons were made between US Navy divers identified as high and low in performance effectiveness. Measures included intelligence, anxiety, disciplinary problems, professional diving recognition, sick-call visits, diving accidents, and incidences of decompression sickness.
Assessment of vertical excursions and open-sea psychological performance at depths to 250 fsw (1976). Miller, J.W., Bachrach, A. J., & Walsh, J. M. Undersea Biomedical Research, v 3(4), p. 339-349. A series of two-man descending vertical excursion dives were carried out in the open sea from an ocean-floor habitat. The study sought to (a) validate laboratory findings with respect to decompression schedules and (b) determine whether such excursions would produce evidence of adaptation to nitrogen narcosis. (French summary).