| Since scuba diving in underwater caves became popular a half century ago, more than 400 cave divers have lost their lives in the United States. Cave diving has been described as one of the world's most dangerous extreme sports. Despite these demonstrable dangers, both younger open water divers and older more sedentary divers are seeking certification as cave divers at the greatest rate to date. This study sought to further the understanding of personality and interpersonal relationship functioning by studying adult male cave divers who were either married or in a committed relationship. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the dyadic relationships of adult male cave divers, as measured by the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, in relation to the five personality traits measured by the Zuckerman Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire. The secondary purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between dyadic adjustment and the personality trait of alexithymia, as measured by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Two hundred sixty eight participants, all fully certified cave divers, volunteered to complete an online survey. Significant negative correlations were found between Zuckerman's neuroticism-anxiety, aggression-hostility, and dyadic adjustment. The most significant negative correlation was that between dyadic adjustment and alexithymia. There were no significant correlations between Zuckerman's' impulsive sensation seeking, sociability, and activity scales and score of dyadic adjustment. These findings may be useful in developing family therapy interventions for cave divers and their families, and possibly for other extreme sports participants as well. |
