EFEITOS DO AMBIENTE ISOLADO, CONFINADO, EXTREMO SOBRE OS ESTADOS DE HUMOR NA ESTAÇÃO ANTÁRTICA COMANDANTE FERRAZ

Abstract

Introduction: Antarctica represents one of the most challenging scenarios for human presence, characterized as an isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environment, in which factors such as geographic isolation, restricted mobility, environmental monotony, and intense seasonal variations act simultaneously. In this context, mood emerges as a variable sensitive to the interaction between psychobiological and environmental factors, being widely used as an indicator of adaptation in extreme conditions. Objective: To analyze the effects of the ICE environment on the mood states of military personnel at the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station (EACF). Methodology: Sixteen military personnel participated in the study, monitored over 11 months in 2020, with six data collection phases (January to November). The Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) questionnaire was applied, and anthropometric measurements were taken. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 23.0, adopting descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation or median and interquartile range, according to the data distribution). Normality was verified by the Shapiro–Wilk test, and differences between periods were assessed by the Friedman test, with a significance level of p ≤ 0.05. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in mood dimensions verified by the Friedman, TMD, and Effect Size indices over the analyzed period (p > 0.05), suggesting a pattern of positive mood in the ICE environment. Conclusion: The findings suggest that exposure to the isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environment of Antarctica did not promote statistically significant changes in mood dimensions over time, indicating stability of positive mood during the analyzed period.