A study of psychological and physical traits and prediction of performance of participants in high risk activities :

Abstract

Data from two SCUBA classes were gathered and analyzed separately as study one and study two. The statistical applications used were t-tests, ANOVAs, Pearson's product-moment correlations (r), Chi-Square tests, factor analyses, and stepwise multiple regressions (R).

The purpose of this study was to identify behavioral needs fulfilled by administrative inclusion of risk oriented activities. One such high risk sport, SCUBA diving, was used as a basis from which a program model for other high risk sports could be developed. The methodology for development of this model was based on the ability to identify psychological and physical traits and to predict performance from these behavioral characteristics.

It was concluded that risk-oriented activities have a definite worth and place in education and should be included by administrators of public educational institutions. It was further concluded that administrators including high risk programs should take care to hire only instructors with professional backgrounds in education as well as the area of risk involvement. Lastly, the results of the study indicate that there is a potential for prediction in SCUBA performance based on behavioral characteristics.

Within the limitations of the study several conclusions were developed. College students were found to be significantly less anxious than the general population as well as being not significantly higher in sensation-seeking than the normed college group. In addition, earlier born participants appeared to do better in regard to training tasks. When considering gender, males were more likely to be selected as dive partners, and selected as dive leaders, in addition to doing better in strength-related tasks, and more likely to finish the course than females.