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BACKGROUND: Seafaring has frequently been reported to be a 'risky occupation' in terms of both physical and mental health. Individuals working in seafaring professions are exposed to various stressors in the workplace, including social isolation, exposure to poor physical conditions and long work hours. This systematic review aimed to update previous reviews by collating recent literature (published between 2012 and 2021) on the factors associated with mental health and wellbeing in seafaring personnel. METHODS: Four electronic databases were searched in April 2021 for primary peer-reviewed studies on factors associated with the mental health and psychological wellbeing of seafarers or interventions to improve the wellbeing of seafarers, published in English in or after the year 2012. Thematic analysis was used to synthesise the data and standardised measures of quality appraisal were used to assess risk of bias. RESULTS: Sixty-three studies were reviewed. Risk factors for poor mental health among seafarers appear to be younger age; being single; poor physical health; exposure to noise/vibration; feeling unsafe; high job demands; long working hours; night/irregular shifts; poor sleep; poor team cohesion; poor perception of management; poor social support; lack of autonomy; scheduling uncertainties; long duration at sea; and over-commitment. CONCLUSIONS: There are numerous steps that maritime managers could take to improve the wellbeing of their personnel, including increased monitoring of the potential for poor mental health in their staff, increasing crew numbers and provision of education and support.

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RESUMEN

The current study sought to identify groups of navigation students and master mariners (captains) characterized by different constellations of the Big Five personality traits and aggression levels. We hypothesized that master mariners would exhibit the resilient personality type and that navigation students would additionally exhibit personality types other than the resilient (e.g., over- or undercontrolled). A sample of 108 navigation students (men, in their second or third year of naval school, all active athletes) and 76 master mariners took part in the study and completed the Polish version of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1992; Zawadzki et al., 1998) and the Aggression Questionnaire (Buss & Perry, 1992; Tucholska, 1998). The hypothesis about the resilient personality type among master mariners was confirmed. The second hypothesis about personality types other than the resilient among navigation students was also confirmed: 33% of the students exhibited the overcontrolling personality type. The article also highlights the need to include psychological assessment in naval school enrolment procedures.