A qualitative investigation of cabin crew's experience of long haul travel : implications for coping style, psychological health and personal, professional and social relationships

• Main Author: Eriksen, Carina
• Published: London Metropolitan University 2007
• Subjects: 158.7
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.511733

This study used qualitative interviews and grounded theory to develop a model of how cabin crew (N=8) cope with the impact of their disrupted lifestyle on psychological wellbeing. Of special interest were the implications for personal, social and professional relationships, which taken together, is likely to lead to increased loneliness, anxiety and depression even for the most resilient crew member (Bor and Levitt, 2003; Partridge and Goodman, 2006). A model was developed to help understand the complex ways in which cabin crew members' experience of psychological disruptions were contingent on their abilities to adapt the demands of their personal lives according to work requirements. Moreover, cabin crew appeared to actively manage and moderate the extent to which the combined effects of psycho-social interruptions and sleep deprivation affected their cognitive, emotional, and physical wellbeing. It is anticipated that the model will help crew members to cope with work-life dichotomies as well as encouraging counselling psychologists to become more involved in various aspects within the provision of stress reducing interventions in the workplace. Implications for future research, crew rostering, and counselling psychology practice and training needs are discussed.