Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Camilo Ortiz

Second Advisor

Dr. Or Dagan

Third Advisor

Dr. Hilary Vidair

Abstract

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health conditions in children ages 6–18, with an estimated worldwide prevalence of 6.5% (Rapee et al., 2023; Polanczyk et al., 2015). Although psychological interventions are highly effective, only about 60% of children with anxiety receive professional help within 12 months of symptom onset (Ghandour et al., 2019). Swimming lessons may represent a widely available, low-cost, and naturally motivating alternative intervention for anxiety. Learning to swim targets mechanisms responsible for the development and maintenance of anxiety, including avoidance and maladaptive cognitions (Mowrer, 1951; Dymond & Roche, 2009), and emerging evidence suggests that treating one fear can generalize to reductions in other, untreated fears (Kodzaga et al., 2023; Dymond et al., 2015). Swimming instruction is highly accepted and broadly accessible, with 95% of Americans endorsing its importance and nearly 70% of recreation agencies offering low- or no-cost lessons (National Recreation and Park Association, 2019). No studies have evaluated swimming lessons as an intervention for child anxiety. Using a nonconcurrent multiple-baseline design, this study demonstrated strong parent-reported treatment acceptability and small-to-large improvements in children’s fear of water. Children and parents also reported small to large reductions in generalized anxiety, despite the intervention never explicitly targeting anxiety beyond swimming. These findings suggest that learning to swim may provide a promising and accessible new approach for reducing childhood anxiety at a time when rates continue to rise despite substantial intervention efforts.

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