PERSONALITY AND ENDOCRINE ACTIVATION IN MILITARY STRESS SITUATIONS

The objective of this study was to identify personality traits that pr edict coping in stressful military settings and to examine if personal ity dusters found in U.S. pilot populations could be replicated in Nor wegian Army (n = 35) and Air Force (n = 44) cadets. All participants c ompleted the Personality Characteristic inventory (PCI), and stable pe rsonality profiles corresponding to those found in U.S. pilot populati ons were identified. The Air Force cadets performed two stressful exer cises, and serum levels of cortisol and testosterone were measured bef ore and after the exercises. Afterwards, the cadets evaluated their ow n physical performance. Thirty-eight of the 44 Air Force cadets could be classified into the PCI personality clusters that related different ially to the physiological stress response. Cadets characterized by st rong instrumental and expressive traits (the ''right stuff'') had lowe r cortisol values and larger testesterone-cortisol ratios than others, which is interpreted as indicative of superior coping. There were no associations between personality and self-reported physical performanc e.