Background: Acceleration load causes several physiological changes that play important roles in pilot performance. One of the problems is determining individual factors responsible for the differences in changes in the level of central nervous system (CNS) arousal after exposure to acceleration loads. We were interested in whether the coping style and anxiety as a trait might differentiate the subjects in terms of reactions of the CNS to +Gz load-related stress.
Methods: Examined were 31 male volunteers with ages between 23 and 30 yr. Measurements were obtained under controlled conditions before, during, and every 2 min up to 12 min after centrifugation. The study was conducted using the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) and State Trait Anxiety Inventory. The value of Critical Flicker Fusion Threshold (CFFT) corresponded to the level of CNS arousal.
Results: Two significantly different trends of changes in CNS arousal were identified: class 1 (higher level of fatigue following +Gz load) and class 2 (lower level of fatigue following +Gz load). Significant differences were observed in CISS scores with Task-Oriented Coping value in class 1 (M = 65.94, SD = 5.47) being considerably greater than in class 2 (M = 62, SD = 4.37). For Emotion-Oriented and Distraction Coping, the mean value in class 1 (M = 29.53, SD = 7.72; M = 16.82, SD = 3.8) was significantly lower than in class 2 (M = 34.33, SD = 6.68; M = 19.42, SD = 3.4).
Discussion: The nature of the changes in CFFT values over time is associated with coping style. Coping styles are very valuable in the prediction of CNS arousal caused by exposure to +Gz stress.Biernacki MP, Lewkowicz R, Zieliński P, Wojtkowiak M. Coping and changes in arousal after exposure to +Gz load. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(11):1034-1039.