Extreme Altitude Mountain Climbing Decreases Sensation Seeking Score and Increases the Anxiety Level

Year 2018, , 222 - 234, 24.12.2018

Dicle Aras , Fırat Akça , Özkan Güler , Abdulkadir Birol , Göktuğ Ertetik , Güney Çetinkaya Cengiz Akalan

https://doi.org/10.35235/uicd.465913

Cited By: 3

Abstract

Background: The aim of the current paper was to compare the anxiety and sensation
seeking levels of the mountaineers in the urban environment and at the
extremely high altitude.

Material and methods: A total of seven male mountaineers participated in the study voluntarily.
The participants filled out the Zuckerman’s Sensation Seeking Scale-Form V
(SSS-V, 1994) and Spielberger’s State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI, 1983)
for the first time in the urban conditions and for the second time in the last
camp at 6400m of the two summits of 7105m and 7134m. The scores of four
different sub-scales of the SSS-V, which are boredom susceptibility (BS),
disinhibition (D), experience seeking (ES), and thrill and adventure seeking
(TAS), were also evaluated.

Results: Results showed a significant difference between trait and state anxiety
scores (p= 0.004). Although there were 12.8% of change on general SSS, 22.61%
on BS, 13.70% on ES, and 18.43% on TAS scores, these changes were not
statistically significant.

Conclusions: Extreme altitude climbing leads to an increase in the anxiety levels
of the mountaineers. Furthermore, the SSS-V scores, except the D score, of the
mountaineers decreased in the extreme altitudes, but these changes were not
statistically significant.

Keywords

High/Extreme Altitude, Mountain Climbing, State Anxiety, Trait Anxiety, Sensation Seeking

Extreme Altitude Mountain Climbing Decreases Sensation Seeking Score and Increases the Anxiety Level

Abstract

Keywords

High/Extreme Altitude, Mountain Climbing, State Anxiety, Trait Anxiety, Sensation Seeking

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