Palinkas-Psychological Issues in Long-Term Space : Overview 26 Gravitational and Space Biology Bulletin

Anecdotal evidence of the individual and interpersonal problems that o ccurred during the Shuttle -Mir Space Program (SMSP) and other long-duration Russian/Soviet missions, and studies of personnel in other isolated and confined extreme (ICE) environments suggest that psychosocial elements of behavior and performance are likely to have a significant impact on the outcome of long-duration missions in space. This impact may range from individual decrements in performance, health and well being, to catastrophic mission failure. This paper reviews our current understanding of the psychosocial issues related to long duration space missions according to three different domains of behavior: the individual domain, the interpersonal domain and the organizational domain. Individual issues include: personality characteristics that predict successful performance, stress due to isolation and confinement and its effect on emotions and cognitive performance, adaptive and maladaptive coping styles and strategies, and requirements for the psychological support of astronauts and their families during the mission. Interpersonal issues include: impact of crew diversity and leadership styles on small group dynamics, adaptive and maladaptive features of ground-crew interactions, and processes of crew cohesion, tension and conflict. Organizational issues include: the influence of organizational culture and mission duration on individual and group performance, and managerial requirements for long duration missions. Improved screening and selection of astronaut candidates, leadership, coping and interp ersonal skills training of personnel, and organizational change are key elements in the prevention of performance decrements on long-duration missions. ____________________________________________________ Apart from the medical and psychological screening conducted on astronaut candidates, psychosocial issues have traditionally received very little attention in NASA’s manned-space program. Reasons include the perspective of an institution dominated largely by engineers that psychology and psychiatry are “soft” (Harrison, 1986) a belief in “the right stuff” of astronauts (Santy, 1994), and the relatively short duration of past space flights where the occurrence and severity of psychosocial problems are viewed as minimal at best (Helmreich, 1983). Nevertheless, there has been an increased awareness in recent years that psychosocial issues are equally, if not more, important to the success of long-term missions in space than other dynamics related to crew health and safety. This recognition has occurred in response to anecdotal evidence of the individual and interpersonal problems that occurred during the Shuttle-Mir Space Program (SMSP) (Burrough, 1998; Linenger, 2000) and other long-duration Russian/Soviet missions (Lebedev, 1988; Oberg, 1981), and studies of personnel in similar Correspondence to: Lawrence A. Palinkas: e-mail: lpalinkas@ ucsd.edu; Fax: 619-543-5996 isolated and confined extreme (ICE) environments (Gunderson, 1974; Sandal et al., 1995). Accounts of prolonged depression, social withdrawal upon news of the death of a loved one, interpersonal tension and hostility, poor leadership, miscommunication, and human error have precipitated a re-examination of the ability of astronauts possessing the “Right Stuff” to live and work alone and in groups, in an isolated, confined, extreme environment for prolonged periods of time. Numerous reviews illustrate the breadth and scope of psychosocial issues relating to long-term space flight (Christensen and Talbot, 1986; Connors et al., 1985; Harrison et al., 1991; Kanas, 1985, 1987; Nicholas, 1987; Palinkas, 1991). The objective of this article is to examine in depth a limited set of issues, highlighted in the 1998 report issued by the National Research Council’s Committee on Space Biology and Medicine, that reflect three hierarchical domains of behavior: the individual, the interpersonal and the organizational. This examination is based largely on recent studies conducted both in space and in analog settings. INDIVIDUAL DOMAIN ISSUES