Prediction of human adaptation and performance in underwater environments.

BACKGROUND Environmental stressors require the professional diver to undergo a complex process of psychophysiological adaptation in order to overcome the demands of an extreme environment and carry out effective and efficient work under water. The influence of cognitive and personality traits in predicting underwater performance and adaptation has been a common concern for diving psychology, and definitive conclusions have not been reached. METHOD In this ex post facto study, psychological and academic data were analyzed from a large sample of personnel participating in scuba diving courses carried out in the Spanish Navy Diving Center. In order to verify the relevance of individual differences in adaptation to a hostile environment, we evaluated the predictive validity of general mental ability and personality traits with regression techniques. RESULTS The data indicated the existence of psychological variables that can predict the performance ( R² = .30, p <.001) and adaptation ( R²(N) = .51, p <.001) of divers in underwater environment. CONCLUSIONS These findings support the hypothesis that individual differences are related to the probability of successful adaptation and effective performance in professional diving. These results also verify that dispositional traits play a decisive role in diving training and are significant factors in divers' psychological fitness.