Profils de personnalité et fonctionnement émotionnel dans les sports extrêmes : à propos d’une étude exploratoire chez des BASE-jumpers

This study examines relations between emotional factors (anxiety and depression), normal and pathological personality, and risk-taking behavior in 11 BASE-jumpers comparing to a control group (n = 11).

Method

All the subjects have been evaluated with self-report questionnaires measuring their emotional states before and after the jump, their involvement in risk-taking behavior, sensation seeking, personality disorders, anxious and depressive symptomatology. Results show a significant effect of BASE-jump practice on emotional state. They have higher scores on the thrill and adventure seeking subscale, they show more drug consumption and more accidents than control group. We found also clinical elements of pathological personality solely from cluster B of the DSM-IV-TR classification among BASE-jumpers. Emotional factors are correlated with borderline personality in this same group.

Discussion

We analyzed those results depending on emotional and behavioral dysregulation, and their specifics involvement in borderline personality, risk-taking behaviors, and also addiction. Sensation seeking could be especially reinforced on the base of a borderline personality with the possibility of a build-up of risk which may put individuals addict to it.