Stress Linked to Reports of Simulator Sickness in Vigilance: A Factor Analysis of the SSSQ and the SSQ

Abstract

The current study investigated the relationship between stress and simulator sickness within vigilance tasks. The Simulator Sickness Questionnaire and the Short Stress State Questionnaire were employed. Data were aggregated from seven different visual vigilance tasks. Correlational relationships were investigated using an exploratory factor analysis, which revealed two factors. The first factor was represented by Distress, a stress measure, and all three simulator sickness subscales: Nausea, Disorientation, and Oculomotor symptoms. The second factor consisted only of Worry, a stress measure. These results suggest that the distress associated with vigilance is intertwined with reports of simulator sickness. One possible explanation is that the stress of vigilance effectively inflates reports of simulator sickness, a potential concern for the validity of simulator sickness assessments within tasks that require vigilance.