ROLE OF CLINICAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATIONS IN DETECTION OF A PROPENSION TO DEVIANT BEHAVIOR IN AVIATION SPECIALISTS

One of the major concerns of the aviation health safety management is enhancement of the flight personnel medical certification system. The investigation was focused on individual typology of civil pilots prone to alcoholism. Subjects were 112 pilots suspected in alcohol abuse and 189 normal pilots as controls. The standard protocol of investigations was complemented by the clinical psychological tests including MMPI, Szondi test, H. Eysenck intelligence test, and projective drawing tests. It was proven that ethanol degrades pilot's personality. The initial stage of this process can be diagnosed using the clinical psychological tests listed above. The authors propose a testing algorithm for inclusion in the crew medical certification procedure.

Experimental study of person-centered psychotherapy in somatogenic disorders treatment (A study of chronic gastrointestinal diseases)

This article touches upon the problem of Person-centered psychotherapy in the treatment of specific psycho-emotional problems caused by chronic physical illnesses. The study involved the patients with chronic diseases of gastroenterological spectrum on the exacerbation stage. Total sample size was 144 people: 85 females (59.09%) and 59 males (40.01%) at the age from 24 to 59 y. The average duration of therapy ranged from 15 to 20 hours. A separate group of patients (15 people) were treated with medications prescribed by a psychiatrist in accordance with psychopathological report taking into account the basic diagnosis (anxiolytic, sedative, nootropic, anti-depressants). Methods. At the sample selection and the final stages the MMPI, M. Luscher Colour Test and L. Szondi Test were applied. Before and after each therapeutic session express-diagnostics via SAM- techniques (self-esteem, activity, mood), in form of personal semantic differential was applied. Results and conclusions. The most significant results in terms of clinical features (health, strengthening, stress reduction, reduction of scales’ peaks, indicating the severity of the reactive state, positive dynamics of the lab tests, etc.) have been observed in the group of patients receiving concomitant (psychological, pharmacological and nosology-oriented) therapy. It may be assumed that various psychotherapeutic approaches should be considered as subsidiary, rather than principal, means of chronic illness treatment. Psychological methods proper would be useful for emotional abreaction, switching attention from the dominant physical suffering to the patient's personal resources, as well as self-presentation processes.

Are Differences between Twins a Result of Mutual Rivalry?

The sexual index included in the Szondi test makes it possible to define the domains of an individuals “internal sex” or gender – especially the degree of the subject's bisexuality. This index was employed in a comparison between partners reared together in 62 monozygotic and 23 dizygotic pairs of twins. The observed incongruence in 1/3 MZ pairs would not appear to derive totally from errors of measurement. In most of these pairs it is competition which underlies the incongruence seen on the sexual index. It was further observed that the congruence here as in general in female pairs is clearly more marked than in males. A hypothesis was proposed, whereby competition for dominance is a distinctively major-tonality (masculinity) characteristic. The incongruence is more conspicuous among males because males are in general more markedly major-toned than females. This hypothesis was borne out. It is thus necessary here as in general to adopt two sex variables in parallel: external (i.e. matricular) sex and internal sex (gender). It is due to the presence of these competitive pairs that the means and especially deviations of twins' test results will consistently diverge from those in the population at large.