Hannah L M Calverley, Lauren A Petrass, Loretta Konjarski
{"title":"Negative prior aquatic experiences and children's aquatic competency: Do parent perceptions differ from reality?","authors":"Hannah L M Calverley, Lauren A Petrass, Loretta Konjarski","doi":"10.1002/hpja.907","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Issue addressed: </strong>Achieving aquatic competence is recommended for preventing childhood drownings, yet many children in Victoria, Australia do not meet aquatic benchmarks despite participating in swimming and water safety programs. While few studies have explored factors influencing aquatic competency development, negative prior aquatic experiences (NPAE) have surfaced as a potential influence. Research on children's NPAE has primarily focused on parental perceptions rather than the child's actual experiences.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Parents and children (aged 10-12 years) completed reliable surveys for background information and NPAE-related data. Children also completed aquatic competency assessments against benchmark standards. Chi-square tests determined relationships between NPAE and aquatic competency, and thematic analysis categorised themes related to perceptions of the child's NPAE.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Most parents (82.9%) indicated their child had not had NPAE, while only half (51.0%) of children did not report NPAE. Children reporting NPAE often perceived incidents as nearly drowning (41%), encompassing swimming pool environments and underwater submersion. Similarly, parents reported varied situations, noting NPAE involving open water and the child's loss of control. Parent-reported NPAE was associated with children less likely to achieve knowledge, continuous swimming, and survival competency benchmarks (p < .05). Children reporting NPAE were less likely to achieve underwater competencies (p < .05).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The disparity between parent and child perspectives of NPAE demonstrates the importance of considering both perspectives. This should assist in providing appropriate support for children to develop aquatic competencies. SO WHAT?: Using NPAE data, practitioners can customise swim teaching approaches to address and prevent NPAE, particularly as many children associate their NPAE with pools, the common setting for aquatic education.</p>","PeriodicalId":47379,"journal":{"name":"Health Promotion Journal of Australia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Health Promotion Journal of Australia","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hpja.907","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Issue addressed: Achieving aquatic competence is recommended for preventing childhood drownings, yet many children in Victoria, Australia do not meet aquatic benchmarks despite participating in swimming and water safety programs. While few studies have explored factors influencing aquatic competency development, negative prior aquatic experiences (NPAE) have surfaced as a potential influence. Research on children's NPAE has primarily focused on parental perceptions rather than the child's actual experiences.
Methods: Parents and children (aged 10-12 years) completed reliable surveys for background information and NPAE-related data. Children also completed aquatic competency assessments against benchmark standards. Chi-square tests determined relationships between NPAE and aquatic competency, and thematic analysis categorised themes related to perceptions of the child's NPAE.
Results: Most parents (82.9%) indicated their child had not had NPAE, while only half (51.0%) of children did not report NPAE. Children reporting NPAE often perceived incidents as nearly drowning (41%), encompassing swimming pool environments and underwater submersion. Similarly, parents reported varied situations, noting NPAE involving open water and the child's loss of control. Parent-reported NPAE was associated with children less likely to achieve knowledge, continuous swimming, and survival competency benchmarks (p < .05). Children reporting NPAE were less likely to achieve underwater competencies (p < .05).
Conclusions: The disparity between parent and child perspectives of NPAE demonstrates the importance of considering both perspectives. This should assist in providing appropriate support for children to develop aquatic competencies. SO WHAT?: Using NPAE data, practitioners can customise swim teaching approaches to address and prevent NPAE, particularly as many children associate their NPAE with pools, the common setting for aquatic education.
期刊介绍：
The purpose of the Health Promotion Journal of Australia is to facilitate communication between researchers, practitioners, and policymakers involved in health promotion activities. Preference for publication is given to practical examples of policies, theories, strategies and programs which utilise educational, organisational, economic and/or environmental approaches to health promotion. The journal also publishes brief reports discussing programs, professional viewpoints, and guidelines for practice or evaluation methodology. The journal features articles, brief reports, editorials, perspectives, "of interest", viewpoints, book reviews and letters.
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