Perceived stress for pilots

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Authors
Aubry, Robin
Carstens, Deborah S.
Hight, Michelle
Advisors
Issue Date
2024-03
Type
Conference paper
Keywords
Perceived stress scale (PSS) , Pilot occupational stress , Spradley's Domain Analysis
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Citation
Aubry, R., Carstens, D.S., Hight, M. (2024) 21-30 Perceived stress for pilots https://doi.org/10.62704/10057/28718
Abstract

This study of occupational stress focused on the aviation industry, specifically student pilots, Certified Flight Instructors, airline pilots, and corporate aviation pilots in the United States. The objective of this exploratory, cross-sectional study was to explore existing theory in a new way to both quantify and qualitatively describe pilots’ perceptions of their most common chronic stressors. Researchers employed a mixed methodology, using the Perceived Stress Scale for its applications in categorizing perceptions of chronic stress). In addition to descriptive, quantitative analysis using the PSS’s Likert scale responses, researchers used Spradley’s domain analysis to identify and further partition themes into sections called “Cover Terms.” These terms, or themes, were organized further into sub-themes called “Included Terms.” The first Cover Term was “Operational Challenges in Aviation.” This cover term encompassed two Included Terms: “Managing” and “Unpredictability.” Within the sample of pilots, roughly one-quarter of the respondents mentioned that the most stressful part of being a pilot was due to operational challenges in aviation. The second major Cover Term was “Balancing Work and Personal Life.” This theme was expanded into three separate subthemes: “Well-being,” “Scheduling,” and “Responsibility.” These Included Terms were further categorized into six “Conjectures.” Nearly half, 48%, of the respondents mentioned that the most stressful part of being a pilot was due to balancing their work and personal life.

Table of Contents
Description
Published in SOAR: Shocker Open Access Repository by Wichita State University Libraries Technical Services, November 2024. 2024 IEMS Officers: Gamal Weheba (Conference Chair); Hesham Mahgoub (Program Chair); Dalia Mahgoub (Technical Director); Ed Sawan (Publications Editor); Wilfredo Moscoso (Proceedings Editor); Abdulaziz G. Abdulaziz (Associate Editor)
Publisher
Industry, Engineering & Conference Management Systems Conference
Journal
Book Title
Series
Proceedings of the 2024 IEMS Conference
v.30
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
2690-3210 (print)
2690-3229 (online)
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