Impact of Survival Swimming Experience on Positive Emotions, Self-Efficacy, and Safety Behaviors among Swimming Club Members in Korea

Background: We aimed to analyze the influence survival swimming experience on positive emotions, self-efficacy, and safety behaviors among swimming club members in Korea.

Methods: A total of 205 adult men and women involved in swimming clubs in the Seoul and Gyeonggi areas of Korea were surveyed via convenience sampling from 2021-22. A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain data related to positive emotions, self-efficacy, and safety behaviors. Frequency analysis, Cronbach's α, reliability analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, and structural equation modelling were performed.

Results: Survival swimming experience had a positive effect on positive emotions (P<0.05), self-efficacy (P<0.05), and safety behaviors (P<0.05). Positive emotions did not have a positive effect on self-efficacy; however, they were found to have a positive effect on safety behaviors.

Conclusion: Positive emotions, self-efficacy, and safety behaviors can be improved via survival swimming experience. Successful experiences with survival swimming could promote self-efficacy and safety behaviors, highlighting the importance of survival swimming education. Therefore, proficiency should be emphasized when attempting to increase the effectiveness of survival swimming education. To achieve this outcome, developing diverse survival swimming programs for each level of proficiency is necessary to ensure adequate transmission of knowledge.