Calverley Hannah L M, Petrass Lauren A, Konjarski Loretta
Life Saving Victoria, Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The International Drowning Researchers' Alliance, Kuna, Idaho, USA.
Health Promot J Austr. 2025 Jan;36(1):e907. doi: 10.1002/hpja.907. Epub 2024 Aug 12.
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.
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.
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).
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.
为预防儿童溺水，建议培养水上技能，但澳大利亚维多利亚州的许多儿童尽管参加了游泳和水上安全课程，仍未达到水上技能基准。虽然很少有研究探讨影响水上技能发展的因素，但负面的先前水上经历（NPAE）已成为一种潜在影响因素。关于儿童NPAE的研究主要集中在家长的看法上，而非儿童的实际经历。
家长和10至12岁的儿童完成了关于背景信息和NPAE相关数据的可靠调查。儿童还根据基准标准完成了水上技能评估。卡方检验确定了NPAE与水上技能之间的关系，主题分析对与儿童NPAE认知相关的主题进行了分类。
大多数家长（82.9%）表示他们的孩子没有NPAE，而只有一半（51.0%）的儿童没有报告NPAE。报告有NPAE的儿童通常将事件视为险些溺水（41%），包括游泳池环境和水下浸没。同样，家长报告了各种情况，指出NPAE涉及开阔水域和孩子失去控制。家长报告的NPAE与儿童不太可能达到知识、持续游泳和生存技能基准相关（p < 0.05）。报告有NPAE的儿童不太可能达到水下技能基准（p < 0.05）。
家长和儿童对NPAE看法的差异表明考虑双方观点的重要性。这应有助于为儿童发展水上技能提供适当支持。那又如何？：利用NPAE数据，从业者可以定制游泳教学方法来应对和预防NPAE，特别是因为许多儿童将他们的NPAE与游泳池联系起来，而游泳池是水上教育的常见场所。
