Susceptibility to anxiety and shift difficulty as determinants of state anxiety in air traffic controllers.

OAM report.PDFTech ReportFAA-AM-73-15DOT/FAA/AM-73/15Air traffic controllersAnxietyWorkloadShiftsPerformance measurementHuman subject testingQuestionnairesUnited StatesCivil Aerospace Medical InstituteSmith, Roger C.Melton, C.E.Civil Aeromedical InstituteUnited States. Office of Aviation MedicineNTL-AVIATION-Air Traffic ControlNTL-AVIATION-Aviation Human FactorsNTL-PLANNING AND POLICY-SurveysUS Transportation CollectionThe State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used to assess the anxiety of air traffic controllers who had experienced difficult and easy work shifts. Eighty volunteers completed the STAI before and after two or more eight-hour work shifts. Controllers relatively high in anxiety proneness tended to report higher levels of anxiety in association with control work than those relatively low in anxiety proneness. The mean A-state score after shifts was higher than the mean score before shifts. It was also determined that the increase in anxiety during shifts was greater for difficult shifts