VOA慢速英语2015 工作压力影响飞行员的心理健康

Psychology¹, Stress Influence Pilots' Mental Health 工作压力影响飞行员的心理健康

Some are asking whether personality tests could have prevented co-pilot Andreas Lubitz from crashing a Germanwings passenger airplane in the French Alps on March 24. But experts say many kinds of stress in the work of airline pilots can contribute to their mental health.

Dr. Andre Droog is a psychologist who has worked with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' flight academy for 22 years. Now he is president of the European Association for Aviation Psychology, EAAP. Mr. Droog says he knows the personality type that is drawn² to becoming a pilot. Usually, he says, people who want to be pilots have a good way of thinking.

“They are quite well selected and very motivated in becoming an airline pilot. They sometimes have to overcome deceptions³ of [failing] an exam or something but, in general they are a group of very enthusiastic people and mentally very healthy."

Mr. Droog has spent years working with pilots following training accidents caused by mechanical or pilot failure. He says the job does have factors that may impose a lot of stress on an individual.

“It's a special job. You are working at irregular times. If you have a family you are often not there and on the other hand you may be at home when everyone is at work,” Mr. Droog says. “If you are flying intercontinental flights, you may build up jet lag and fatigue⁴ and of course you have to manage your life very well.”

In the book “Anxiety at 35,000 Feet: An Introduction to Clinical Aerospace⁵ Psychology,” author Robert Bor repeats some of these ideas. He says handling complex systems aboard an aircraft contributes to the stress of the job of a pilot.

Mr. Bor says, “These are also shift workers who do not follow the same working hours as most people and their offices are cramped⁶ flight decks at 35,000 feet in the air.”

Other contributing factors to stress are regular tests. Mr. Bor says regular testing makes the pilot "subject to the close monitoring of other crew members.” In other words, someone regularly watches pilots to make sure they are doing a good job. Mr. Bor says this experience is like an “incessant driving test," or a test that never ends.

Is testing the answer?

Like the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the European Aviation Safety Agency does not require regular psychological tests. However, these tests can be taken if examiners find cause for concern during periodic physicals, which include a discussion of mental well-being⁷. The role of psychological tests is noted⁸ in the agencies’ guidelines.

The U.N.’s International Civil Aviation Organization manual states: “Personality tests alone have not been proven to be reliable tools to predict mental disorders¹⁰ or to assess with any degree of certainty an applicant’s suitability for an aviation career.”

EAAP’s Mr. Droog agrees with that assessment¹¹ – a psychological test alone cannot say whether someone will be a good and responsible pilot. Mr. Droog says instead, pilots should have the opportunity to discuss their mental health many times during their careers.

“It is asking the right questions at the right time. [Pilots] have to perform during the year at least four times in a [flight] simulator for training and proficiency,” Mr. Droog says.

At these times, he says, examiners giving those tests should keep an eye on possible signs of fatigue and stress. These are the critical times to talk to pilots face to face about their mental condition.

“Psychological testing is very effective in the beginning before they start training just to select the right people for the job,” Mr. Droog says. "But psychological tests are not very effective in predicting life events and how people cope with them.”

Incidents are rare

The Aviation Safety Network tracks information about air accidents. Before the Germanwings crash on Tuesday, the network reported that pilots had intentionally¹² caused five crashes, killing¹³ 422 people, since 1982. Those cases involved EgyptAir, SilkAir, Royal Air Maroc, Japan Airlines and LAM Mozambique Airlines.

The aviation industry has already been making some changes to answer these events.

In Asia, psychological tests are now a common industry practice. Two of the five companies with in-flight suicides since 1982 are based in Asia.

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration rules bar anyone suffering from psychosis, severe personality disorder⁹, manic-depressive illness or substance dependence¹⁴ the medical clearance¹⁵ to fly an airliner¹⁶. Captains are required to renew their medical clearance every six months; first officers are required to renew it every year. Hundreds of people each year are refused a clearance.

European airlines are not currently required to have two crew members in the cockpit at all times, but some airlines have introduced the rule. They are doing so after it was reported that the co-pilot of the Germanwings flight had locked himself in the cockpit and did not allow the pilot to enter and take control of the aircraft. The German Aviation Association said Friday that German airlines would introduce a new rule about who must be in the cockpit.

Because of the rarity of suicide by aircraft, the Royal College of Psychiatrists¹⁷ in London cautions against overall judgments¹⁸ on depression. The college makes the point that pilots with depression have flown safely for years.

The college says pilots should have their physical and mental health tested. But, it says judgments about risk cannot be made for everyone equally. It says, “There will be pilots with experience of depression who have flown safely for decades, and assessments¹⁹ should be made on a case by case basis.”

Words in This Story

psychology - n. the science or study of the mind and behavior

personality - n. the set of emotional qualities and ways of behaving that makes a person different from other people

enthusiastic - adj. feeling or showing strong excitement about something: filled with or marked by enthusiasm

depression - n. a serious medical condition in which a person feels very sad, hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a normal way

fatigue - n. the state of being very tired: extreme weariness

1 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 deceptions   

欺骗( deception的名词复数 )； 骗术，诡计

参考例句：

• Nobody saw through Mary's deceptions. 无人看透玛丽的诡计。
• There was for him only one trustworthy road through deceptions and mirages. 对他来说只有一条可靠的路能避开幻想和错觉。

4 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

5 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

6 cramped   

a.狭窄的

参考例句：

• The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
• working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作

7 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

10 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

12 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

13 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

14 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

15 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

16 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

17 psychiatrists   

n.精神病专家，精神病医生( psychiatrist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They are psychiatrists in good standing. 他们是合格的精神病医生。 来自辞典例句
• Some psychiatrists have patients who grow almost alarmed at how congenial they suddenly feel. 有些精神分析学家发现，他们的某些病人在突然感到惬意的时候几乎会兴奋起来。 来自名作英译部分

18 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

19 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句