Effects of isolation, crowding, and different psychological countermeasures on crew behavior and performance.

Studies conducted by I. Altman in the 1960-70s revealed the increase in the individual stress level under isolation and confinement. Altman introduced the term "privacy" as a desired level of personal space that humans need to feel psychologically comfortable. The author also mentioned the dynamic process of boundary regulation that can be accompanied by the increase in conflict tension in the confined groups. In our study with short-term chamber isolation ESKIS, we analyzed behavior, crew interactions, and psychological state of a mixed-gender crew with none or minimal previous isolation experience (4 males and 2 females) who spent 14 days in a small chamber of 50 m3. The study confirmed that the pre-isolation period was particularly stressful for the subjects who felt also significant anxiety during the first days of isolation. Also, some mood and sleep disturbances were detected under isolation and crowding. Psychological stress made the crew more cohesive; they demonstrated the increase in common values. Extraverted subjects who could obtain social support from their partners and Mission Control's duty teams were less interested in psychological support via VR.

Applications of methods of psychological support developed for astronauts for use in medical settings.

Over the past 40 years, psychological support (PS) for cosmonauts and astronauts has remained an important part of the regular biomedical provision of space crews during extended orbital flights. It includes well-developed principles and a set of methods that have proven its effectiveness for the maintenance of behavioral health under extreme conditions of space flight. The main principle of PS in flight is to restore the usual sensory input to compensate for the monotony and lack of external stimuli as a result of a long stay under isolation and confinement. Risk factors for the psychological health and well-being defined for the astronauts, such as sensory and social deprivation, monotony, confinement, and lack of privacy, also remain part and parcel of several civil professions. These include polar wintering, submarines, working on oil platforms, and ocean fishing. Most of these factors also adversely affect the recovery rate of a large contingent of medical institutions, especially bedridden patients with chronic diseases. Finally, due to the negative epidemiological situation associated with the spread of COVID-19, an increasingly wide range of citizens forced to be in self-isolation faces negative manifestations of the deprivation phenomena described previously. Several cases of successful use of PS under isolation, monotony, crowding, and confinement are presented. Thus, we assume that the use of psychological support methods developed for space flights could be extremely relevant in civil medicine and everyday life.