Important Incidents Affecting Crewmembers During International Space Station Missions
- Paper number
IAC-07-A1.1.06
- Author
Dr. Nick Kanas, University of California and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Vyacheslav Salnitskiy, Institute for Biomedical Problems, Russia
- Coauthor
Dr. Jennifer Boyd Ritsher, University of California and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Vadim Gushin, Institute for Biomedical Problems, Russia
- Coauthor
Dr. Daniel S. Weiss, University of California and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, United States
- Coauthor
Ms. Stephanie Saylor, University of California and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. O.P. Kozerenko, Institute for Biomedical Problems, Russia
- Coauthor
Dr. Charles Marmar, University of California and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, United States
- Year
2007
- Abstract
Introduction: As part of a study of psychosocial issues affecting crewmembers during missions to the International Space Station, astronauts and cosmonauts completed a Critical Incident Log documenting important events that confronted them while they were in space. Subjects were asked to describe the incidents and indicate their impact on themselves and on their fellow crewmembers. Methods: A total of 8 American astronauts and 9 Russian cosmonauts who were living on the International Space Station participated in our study. Eight subjects from both countries provided 37 log entries, with one accounting for 22 entries. As in our previous study of crews working on the Mir Space Station, two raters analyzed the log entries and coded their content into any of 17 categories. Results: The content from the 37 log entries was broken down into a total of 92 ratings coded across all categories. In terms of frequency, coded ratings were categorized as having a reference to positive/negative/neutral attributes or were related to expected onboard events. From the 92 critical incident ratings, 21% contained positive attributes (e.g., holiday celebrations, actions that bonded the crewmembers closer together), 17% contained reference to on-board events that were expected (e.g., dockings, EVAs), 55% contained incidents having negative attributes (e.g., interpersonal or psychological problems), and the remaining 7% contained either neutral ratings or not enough information to analyze. Of those logs containing incidents with negative attributes, 47% dealt with a variety of interpersonal problems (intra-crew, crew-ground, or with management), and 18% dealt with psychological problems affecting crewmembers (e.g., tension, depression). In response to a question asking how much the incident affected their personal level of tension (ranging from decreased a lot or a little, to no change, to increased a little or a lot), the crewmember scores averaged between ratings of “no change” and “increased a little”. The results were similar for a question asking how much the incident affected their group’s level of tension. Discussion: Because 53% of the subjects did not report a critical incident, and because one subject accounted for 59% of the responses, one must be cautious in interpreting our findings. Nevertheless, the responses we received suggested that both negative and positive incidents occurred, causing both personal and group tension to fall or rise on-board, and that interpersonal incidents were more common than psychological or other negative incidents.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-07-A1.1.06.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.