Education Commons^™

Knowledge, Attitudes, And Behaviours Of New Zealand Youth In Surf Beach Environments, Stacey M. Willcox-Pidgeon, Bridget Kool, Kevin Moran Ph.D.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

New Zealand youth are over-represented in drowning statistics yet little is known about their understanding of water safety, especially in surf beach context. This study aimed to ascertain current youth surf safety knowledge, specifically rip current awareness, explore self-reported competencies and confidence when surf swimming, and examine youth behaviour when at the beach. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among senior high school students (n = 599) in Auckland, New Zealand. Over half (58%) reported they were unable to swim > 100 m in a pool. Males and students of European-New Zealand and Maori (New Zealand’s indigenous population) heritage were most …