Adaptation and Adjustment in the Antarctic: Long-term Effects on Health and Performance

人类在南极洲的探索和研究记录表明，长期暴露在极端和与世隔绝的环境中是一种紧张的经历，在某些情况下对南极洲人员的健康和工作表现有深远的影响。有一些证据表明，虽然过冬人员在短期内存在适应问题，但从长远来看，他们患上疾病和由压力引发的疾病的风险会降低。这项研究的目的是识别和描述长期的社会隔离和极端的物理环境的持久适应性反应的来源。研究小组将利用结合人类学和心理学方法的跨学科方法，对南极越冬经历的短期和长期后果进行定性和定量评估。一项民族志研究将审查麦克默多海峡南极考察站的微文化、应对压力的社会互动过程和社会支持程度，以及适应“越冬综合症”的方法。流行病学方法将评估健康、压力和应对的基线情况，以前瞻性地检查长期隔离对这些应对策略和资源在减少后续应激相关疾病方面的有效性的影响。这项研究将有助于理解孤立的微型社会以及健康、环境和个性之间的相互作用。

The record from human exploration and research in Antarctica has established that prolonged exposure to the extreme and isolated environment is a stressful experience, and in certain circumstances has profound implications for health and performance of personnel in Antarctica. There is some evidence which suggests that while winter-over personnel have short-term adjustment problems, they have a long-term decreased risk of diseases and illnesses triggered by stress. The objective of this study is to identify and describe the sources of enduring adaptive response to prolonged social isolation and an extreme physical environment. The research team will utilize an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating both anthropological and psychological methods, for qualitative and quantitative assessment of short-term and long-term consequences of the antarctic winter-over experience. An ethnographic study will examine the microculture of the antarctic research station at McMurdo Sound, the processes of social interaction and extent of social support in coping with stress, and the means of adjustment to the "winter-over syndrome". Epidemiologic methods will assess baseline profiles of health, stress, and coping to prospectively examine the effect of prolonged isolation on the effectiveness of these coping strategies and resources in reducing subsequent stress- related illness. This study will contribute to the understanding of isolated microsocieties and interactions between health, environment and personality.