Analysis of severity and variability of psychopathology disturbances in structure mental health disorders in long-distance sailors depending on their levels of psychosocial stress

Abstract

Using clinical-psychopathological and psychodiagnostic methods, we studied the severity and variability of psychopathological symptoms in the structure of mental health disorders in seafarers, depending on the level of psychosocial stress they experienced, to determine the targets of personalized mental health care measures for this contingent. During 2016–2019, 110 officers of the command staff of the Maritime Merchant Navy (CMN), 90 sailors of the Maritime Merchant Navy (SMN), 70 representatives of the command staff of the Maritime Passenger Fleet (CPF) and 30 privates of the Maritime Passenger Fleet (SPF) were surveyed. All were examined by men, citizens of Ukraine. The study included the use of clinical-psychopathological and psychodiagnostic methods. In the inter-voyage period, the vast majority of long-distance sailors are either mentally healthy (30.9 % CMN, 41.1 % SMN, 42.9 % CPF, 33.3 % SPF), or have some signs of mental maladaptation (52.7 % CMN, 37.7 % SMN, 44.3 % CPF, 40.0 % SPF). Clinically delineated disorders of the neurotic register of the F43 cluster (adaptation disorders) are characterized by 26.7 % SPF, 21.1 % SMN, 16.4 % CMN and 12.8 % CPF. The severity and variability of psychopathological manifestations, in general in the sample, correspond to the neurotic level of response, however, have differences among the examined different groups. The greatest severity of symptoms of depression on the background of high levels of anxiety, hostility and psychosis is inherent in SPF, and the greatest severity of anxiety, phobic anxiety, hostility and somatization is inherent in CMN. The lowest severity of psychopathological symptoms is characteristic of CPF. The severity and variability of psychopathological manifestations is directly associated with the level of stress experienced by the subjects: with increasing stress burden, the severity of the psychopathological response increases. The identified patterns should be taken into account in the development of specific measures of psychotherapy and psychoprophylaxis for this contingent, which is the prospect of this study.