Psychological Aspects of Arctic Living— McCollum 255 



Alaska for the first time, have been subjected to intensive psy- 

 chological testing. The test battery was designed to elicit the 

 changes which occurred in the personality patterns of the men, 

 in their attitudes and opinions, and in their general efficiency 

 as members of a military unit. While there was evidence that 

 certain stresses had developed, these stresses were minimal and 

 were not traceable to the peculiarities of Arctic and sub-Arctic 

 duty (1). 



In this connection, it should be stated that after careful 

 investigation of both the large military installations near the 

 centers of Alaskan population and the small auxiliaries located 

 at the far-flung reaches of the territory, the morale of the men 

 at the outposts many times excelled that of the men at the 

 larger bases (2). 



The first large focal point about which a great deal has 

 already been written is the shortage of adequate housing. The 

 social consequences of this bottleneck cannot be overestimated. 

 Most of the "worries" registered by married servicemen in a 

 recent survey at Ladd Air Force Base and Elmendorf Air Force 

 Base (3, 4) clustered around marital misunderstandings fostered 

 by forced separation from their families because of the housing 

 shortage, problems arising from prolonged substandard ex- 

 istence, and financial encumberment incurred in an attempt 

 to solve the housing problem. The advantages accruing to 

 both the military establishment and the civilian community 

 from an adequate housing program are self-evident. 



A second source of tension is the lack of common social and 

 sexual expressions. The numerical predominance of males 

 makes impossible any kind of normal social balance. In such 

 a state the incidence of delinquent behavior increases, alcoholic 

 beverage consumption rises, and anti-social sexual expressions 

 are more numerous. Our findings indicated that the men were 

 often lonesome and without anything interesting to do. Rec- 

 reation was largely confined to various forms of vicarious es- 

 capes such as the movies, reading, etc. No participant sport 

 engaged more than seventeen percent of the men at the maxi- 

 mum. The outdoor recreational aspects of Alaskan living 



