Self‐reported water and drowning risk exposure at surf beaches

Abstract

Objective: To document patterns of water exposure at surf beaches by gender and identify factors that predict bather confidence to return to shore if caught in a rip current. Method: Recreational surf beach bathers (N=406) provided self‐completed data on water exposure patterns, surf activity behaviours and potential drowning risk and protective factors. Results: Relative to females, males visited surf beaches more frequently, expected to spend longer in the water and in deeper water, and more often bathed after using alcohol (p<0.05). Confidence to return to shore if caught in a rip current was predicted by confidence to identify a rip current, self‐rated swimming ability, gender, times visited any beach, and age in a standard linear regression model (adjusted R2=0.68). Conclusion: The study supports explanations that high male drowning rates result from more frequent exposure to water than females at high situational risk levels. Implications: Controlled studies are required to determine the role in drowning of overconfidence, swimming ability, surf experience, floatation devices and response to sea conditions.

Surf Bather Drowning Risk and Exposure-Related Factors Identified by an Expert Panel

“…4 [2012] (Moran, Quan, Franklin, & Bennett, 2011;Morgan, 2006a;Quan, Bennett, Moran, & Bierens, 2012). Further, identified factors including level of experience (encompassing swimming ability), lack of local knowledge (encompassing surf hazard awareness), no lifesaving services (i.e., drowning risk posed by bathing in unpatrolled areas or times) and use of alcohol have been studied in surf bather populations, for the most part by self-report (e.g., Ballantyne, Carr, & Hughes, 2005;Manolios & Mackie, 1988;McCool, Moran, Ameratunga, & Robinson, 2008;Mitchell & Haddrill, 2004;Morgan et al, 2009a;Sherker, Williamson, Hatfield, Brander, & Hayen, 2010;White & Hyde, 2010). However, the majority of relevant studies have not assessed or controlled for bather responses across varying sea or water conditions (e.g., wave height).…”

Public perceptions of a rip current hazard education program: “Break the Grip of the Rip!”

“…Morgan et al (2009) identified that lacking rip current knowledge was associated with rip current drownings, as was gender, age, alcohol consumption, and overconfidence in swimming ability. Recent evidence suggests that while most beach users are aware of rip currents and the hazard they pose, they are not able to identify a rip current (Sherker et al, 2010;Caldwell et al, 2013;Brannstrom et al, 2014).…”

Can You Swim? Self-Report and Actual Swimming Competence Among Young Adults in Ballarat, Australia

“…Aquatic studies have identified several risk factors for this age group, including gender (Australian Water Safety Council, 2008;RLSSA, 2010), alcohol consumption in or around aquatic environments (Driscoll, Harrison, & Steenkamp, 2004;Quan, Bennett, & Branche, 2007;Taneja, Van Beeck, & Brenner, 2008), and risk taking behavior (Morgan, Ozanne-Smith, & Triggs, 2009), particularly in young males (Howland, Hingson, Mangione, Bell, & Bak, 1996;Moran, 2011). There is contention regarding the effectiveness of swimming and water safety lessons in reducing drowning-related mortality and morbidity and for youth, to date, this has not been evaluated (Brenner, Saluja, & Smith, 2003), nor has the level of swimming skill necessary to prevent drowning been established (Langendorfer, 2008).…”