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Abstract
Learning to swim via a structured program is an important skill to develop aquatic competencies and prevent drowning. Fear of water can produce phobic behaviors counterproductive to the learning process. No research examines the influence of negative aquatic experiences on learning to swim. This study explored the influence of children’s negative prior aquatic experiences (NPAE) on learn-to-swim achievement via swim school data. Children’s enrolment records (5–12 years) in the Australian Capital Territory were analyzed via demographics, level achieved and NPAE. NPAE was recorded as yes/no, with free text thematically coded to 16 categories. Of 14,012 records analyzed (51% female; 64% aged 6–8 years), 535 (4%) reported a NPAE at enrolment. Males, children with a medical condition and attending public schools were significantly more likely (p = 0.001) to report a NPAE. Children reporting a NPAE achieved a lower average skill level at each year of age. The largest proportion (19%) of NPAE reported related to swimming lessons. NPAE have a detrimental influence on aquatic skill achievement. We recommend increased adult supervision to reduce likelihood of an NPAE occurring, while also encouraging swim instructors to consider NPAE when teaching swimming and develop procedures to ensure a NPAE does not occur during instruction.
Highlights
Drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental death among children [1]
Negative prior aquatic experiences can lead to fear which presents as water phobic behavior which influences ability to learn-to-swim
Findings indicate negative prior aquatic experiences persist across age groups; boys, children attending public schools and those with a pre-existing medical condition were more likely to report a negative prior aquatic experience; and that negative prior aquatic experiences adversely influence a child’s ability to learn aquatic competencies, resulting in a lower average level achieved when compared to children of the same age who did not report a negative prior aquatic experience
Summary
Drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental death among children [1]. For all ages, the current annual global estimate is 295,000 drowning deaths [2], this figure is thought to underreport fatal drowning, in particular boating and disaster related drowning mortality [3].Drowning disproportionately impacts children and young people, with over half of all drowning deaths occurring among people aged under 25 years [1]. Children under five years of age record the highest rate of fatal [4,5] and non-fatal drowning [6], with incidents commonly occurring in swimming pools [7] and bathtubs [8] in high income countries and in water bodies in and around the home in low income contexts [9]. Participation in formal swimming lessons has been shown to reduce drowning risk among children aged 1–19 years [12] and a recent review of evidence suggests that teaching aquatic competencies to young children causes no increased risk [13], when combined with the additional drowning prevention strategies of supervision, restricting access to water and caregiver training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) [14]
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