Gresko M. Psychophysiological characteristics of personality changes and assessment of radiation risk perception after the Chornobyl catastrophe.

The dissertation is devoted to solving the scientific problem of determining the psycho-physiological characteristics of personal changes and assessing the adequacy of the radiation hazard perception in clean-up workers (liquidators) of the Chornobyl catastrophe and evacuated from the Chornobyl Exclusion zone (ChEZ), which consists in a retrospective and prospective analysis of the deformation of the individual-type pattern of the person and the characterization of bioelectric activity of the brain. The psycho-physiological research on the liquidators and evacuees, as well as non-exposed respondents (control group), Antiterroristic operation / United forces operation (ATO/UFO) participants (comparison group) were conducted. Psychodiagnostic and neurophysiological researches were carried out for 503 persons — 122 liquidators of 1986–1987; 76 liquidators of 1986–1987, which were also evacuated from the ChEZ; 119 evacuees; 85 non-exposed controls and 101 ATO/UFO participants (comparison group). After the Chernobyl catastrophe surviving there is a psychological disadaptation with personality deformation in the form of growth of introversion, neuroticism and increased accentuation of pedantic, cyclothymic, dysthymic, anxiety, emotive and excitatory types. The neurophysiological basis of these destructive individual-typological features is the deceleration of the pattern of bioelectric activity of the brain, indicating an organic lesion of the brain, mainly in the cortico-limbic system. Established dose-dependent changes in qEEG can be indicative of the radiation-associated nature of organic brain damage. Hypertrophic perception of ionizing radiation is detected and formation of inadequate perception of radiation risk as a result of personality deformations is shown. The peculiarities of coping strategies after experiencing emergencies are the predominant use of emotionally-directed behavior strategies, which, along with hypertrophied perception of radiation risk, contribute to the formation of mental disorders. The ways of optimization of psychocorrection of psycho-physiological features of the person suffered as a result of the Chornobyl catastrophe, which include, in addition to the biological, psychological and social levels of the provision of assistance to the informational and educational component, have been developed and used. The use of the results will contribute to the improvement of radiation safety and radiological protection in radiation emergencies, as well as in dealing with sources of ionizing radiation (nuclear industry, interventional and medical radiology, long-range space flights, etc.).