Abstract

MINDFULNESS AND MENTAL RESILIENCE TRAINING FOR PILOTS: ENHANCING COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AND STRESS MANAGEMENT

The study delves into assessing the influence of mindfulness and mental resilience training on the cognitive performance and stress management of pilots. Employing a meticulous literature search across databases such as Medline and Google Scholar, the study used specific keywords to target a wide array of studies. Inclusion criteria were stringent, focusing on peer-reviewed studies in English that utilized designs like randomized controlled trials, with a specific interest in interventions related to mindfulness or mental resilience training for pilots, and measured outcomes pertaining to cognitive performance and stress management.

The initial literature search identified a pool of 123 articles, with subsequent screening resulting in the exclusion of 77 based on title and abstract. The remaining 54 articles underwent a more rigorous full-text screening, leading to the exclusion of 41. Additionally, five studies were selected from the World Health Organization’s clinical trials database. A total of 11 articles from meta-analyses were retained for examination, underscoring the study’s dedication to a meticulous and robust inclusion process.

The interventions varied widely, incorporating mixed approaches, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) based, and mindfulness-based techniques. The analysis uncovered positive effects across these interventions. Specifically, mixed interventions demonstrated a Standardized Mean Difference (SMD) of 0.54, CBT-based interventions showed an SMD of 0.29, and mindfulness-based interventions exhibited an SMD of 0.43. Long-term effects at a 6-month follow-up suggested sustained impacts for both mindfulness-based (SMD: 0.63) and CBT-based interventions (SMD: 0.73), albeit with notable heterogeneity.

In conclusion, this meta-analysis highlights the affirmative influence of resilience interventions on pilots’ cognitive performance and stress management. The diverse approaches and sustained effects underscore the potential advantages of integrating mindfulness and mental resilience training into pilot training programs. Sensitivity analyses, along with an acknowledgment of potential biases, augment confidence in the findings, offering valuable insights to the realms of aviation and mental resilience research.

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