Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T22:05:17.409Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Psychological Effects of Service in British Antarctica

A Study Using the General Health Questionnaire

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

J. Bell  and
P. H. Garthwaite
J. Bell
Affiliation:
The British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge
P. H. Garthwaite*
Affiliation:
Department of Statistics, University of Aberdeen
*
∗Study Block, King's College, Old Aberdeen AB9 2UB, Scotland
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study follows the psychological profile of a group of Antarctic explorers on a remote base in British Antarctica. Each month for 1 year the 60-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) was administered to the 12-man complement and the results compared to those of a control group. Three men resigned and left, 4 months later, at the end of winter. Their scoring showed marked differences from the others, including the highest scores in the severe depression factor scale. The GHQ was accepted by the men despite the intrusive threat it offered in such a small community; there was also a seasonal variation in scoring, with higher scores in the winter, and no evidence of long-term psychological sequelae in those who stayed.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 150 , Issue 2 , February 1987 , pp. 213 - 218
Copyright
Copyright © 1987 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bell, J. A. (1984) The detection of psychological changes in antarctic explorers. Scottish Medical Journal, 30, 57.Google Scholar
de Monchaux, C., Davis, A. & Edholm, O. G. (1979) Psychological studies in the Antarctic. British Antarctic Survey Bulletin, 48, 93–97.Google Scholar
Finlay-Jones, R. A. & Murphy, E. (1979) Severity of psychiatric disorder and the 30-item Gneral Health Questionnaire. British Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 609–616.Google Scholar
Goldberg, D. (1972) The Detection of Psychiatric Illness by Questionnaire (Maudsley Monographs) London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Goldberg, D. (1978) Manual of the General Health Questionnaire. Windsor: NFER-Nelson.Google Scholar
Goodchild, M. E. & Duncan-Jones, P. (1985) Chronicity and the General Health Questionnaire. British Journal of Psychiatry, 146, 55–61.Google Scholar
Harding, T. W. (1976) Validating a method of psychiatric case identification in Jamaica. Bulletin of the World Health Organisation, 54, 225–231.Google Scholar
Law, P. (1960) Personality problems in Antarctica. Medical Journal of Australia, 1, 273–280.Google Scholar
Lewis, H. E. & Masterson, J. P. (1957) Sleep and wakefulness in the Arctic. Lancet, 1, 1262–1266.Google Scholar
Mullin, C. S. (1960) Some psychological aspects of living in Antarctica. American Journal of Psychiatry, 117, 323–325.Google Scholar
Mullin, C. S. & Connery, H. J. M. (1959) Psychological study at an Antarctic IGY station. United States Armed Forces Medical Journal, 10, 323–325.Google ScholarPubMed
Munoz, P. E., Vasquex, J. L., Pastrana, E., Rodriguez, F. & Oneca, C. (1978) Study of the validity of Goldberg's 60 item GHQ in its Spanish version. Social Psychiatry, 13, 99–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Natani, K. & Shurley, J. T. (1973) Sleep research in the Antarctic: why? In Polar Human Biology (eds O. G. Edholm & E. K. E. Gunderson). London: Heineman.Google Scholar
Palmai, G. (1963) Psychological observations on an isolated group in Antarctica. British Journal of Psychiatry, 109, 364–370.Google Scholar
Radovanovic, Z. & Eric, L. (1983) Validity of the General Health Questionnaire in a Yugoslav student population. Psychological Medicine, 13, 205–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strange, R. E. & Klein, W. J. (1973) Emotional and social adjustment of recent US winter-over parties in isolated Antarctic stations. In Polar Human Biology (eds O. G. Edholm & E. K. E. Gunderson). London: Heineman.Google Scholar
Taylor, A. J. W. (1978) Summary of psychological effects of antarctic service. New Zealand Antarctic Record, 1, 31–34.Google Scholar
Tennant, C. (1977) The General Health Questionnaire: a valid index of psychological impairment in Australian populations. Medical Journal of Australia, 2, 392–394.Google Scholar
Worsley, A., Walters, W. A. W. & Wood, E. C. (1978) Responses of Australian patients with gynaecological disorders to the General Health Questionnaire: a factor analytic study. Psychological Medicine, 8, 131–138.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.