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What Is So Special about Wingsuit BASE Jumpers? A Comparative Study of Their Psychological Characteristics

Author

Listed:
  • Pierre Bouchat

    (Équipe PErSEUs (EA 7312), Department of Psychology, Université de Lorraine, 57045 Metz, France
    Psychological Sciences Research Institute, UCLouvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium)

  • Francesco Feletti

    (Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Ausl Romagna, S. Maria delle Croci Hospital, 48121 Ravenna, Italy
    Department of Translational Medicine and for Romagna, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy)

  • Erik Monasterio

    (Department of Psychological Medicine, Christchurch School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin 8011, New Zealand)

  • Eric Brymer

    (Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University, Gold Coast Campus, Lismore 2480, Australia)

Abstract

For the general public, BASE jumping is considered the ultimate extreme activity. Among BASE jumpers, those using wingsuits are generally perceived as the most experienced but also as the most risk-taking. Starting from this observation, we wanted to know whether wingsuit users differed in their psychological characteristics from other BASE jumpers. More specifically, we hypothesized that wingsuit users would be characterized by higher levels of mental toughness and by lower levels of harm avoidance. We also expected them to use more mental training techniques than the other jumpers. To this end, we conducted a vast survey on a sample of 183 BASE jumpers. Contrary to our hypotheses, the results did not reveal any significant difference in psychological characteristics between wingsuit users and other BASE jumpers. This absence of significant differences is discussed and recommendations for the use of mixed or multi-methods in the study of extreme sports are proposed.

Suggested Citation

  • Pierre Bouchat & Francesco Feletti & Erik Monasterio & Eric Brymer, 2022. "What Is So Special about Wingsuit BASE Jumpers? A Comparative Study of Their Psychological Characteristics," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-9, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:5:p:3061-:d:764831
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