Dive Professional Career
Survey Results: Scuba Diving & Panicking
Dive industry survey conducted in relation to an InDepth article titled “Don’t Panic: Understanding the Causes and Remedies of Diver Panic”
Darcy Kieran is the author of the handbook “Your Career and/or Life as a Scuba Diving Instructor: How to Make a Good Living Out of Your Passion for Scuba Diving” and a unique advanced logbook & checklists for scuba divers, divemasters & instructors.
Following the publication by Dr. Laura Walton’s of an article titled “Don’t Panic: Understanding the Causes and Remedies of Diver Panic” in InDepth magazine, the Business of Diving Institute conducted a survey on panicking in scuba diving.
Who answered the survey on panicking & scuba diving?
363 scuba divers answered the call to take part in our survey on panicking in scuba diving, of which 249 fully answered the survey up to the last question. Many thanks to those of you who helped with this study!
Please take part in our other dive industry surveys or consult results from past surveys.Participants lived in the following geographical regions:
- Europe: 36.7%
- Australia & New Zealand: 22.1%
- USA: 20.5%
- All other regions: 20.7%
Survey participants were from the following age groups and genders:
As for their participation in the activity of scuba diving, here is how survey respondents defined themselves:
In the answer above, “instructor” included instructor trainers, while “recreational” excluded tech diving (which includes rebreather and cave diving). Overall, 27% were tech divers or instructors.
Now, let’s dive into the interesting stuff!
How many divers experienced panic or near panic?
Here is how many survey participants answered yes to the following questions & situations. In parentheses is the percentage of tech divers who answered in the positive. In this context, “tech divers” include divers, instructors, and instructor trainers.
- 18.0%: Since you became a diver, have you ever taken a break from diving because you were experiencing panic or near panic when diving? (Tech divers: 13.7%)
- 16.5%: Since you became a diver, have you ever taken a break from diving because you believed you would be at risk of panic or near-panic? (Tech divers: 11.6%)
- 24.8%: Since you have been a diver, have you ever had repeat difficulties with high stress levels on dives? (Tech divers: 22.1%)
- 11.8%: During a dive, I experienced panic to the point of losing control of what I was doing. (Tech divers: 7.4%)
- 69.0%: During a dive, I experienced near-panic where I was concerned that I may panic, but I was able to stay in control. (Tech divers: 70.5%)
No matter how you look at these numbers, it appears that the topic of panicking while scuba diving cannot be ignored. It’s real!
What did their own panic of near-panic look like?
Among the 274 survey respondents who indicated having experienced panic or near-panic, the average number of dives during which they experienced such was 4.5 while 26.9% of the respondents reported experiencing it only once.
For the following questions, survey participants were asked to think of the dive during which they experienced the most significant instance of panic or near-panic.
Once again, the first numbers are the results from all survey participants, while the numbers in parentheses are from tech divers. In this context, “tech divers” include divers, instructors, and instructor trainers.
In what form did they experience panic?
- 28.8%: Passive — A disconnection from what your body was doing, either freezing in place, or mechanically performing actions without being aware (tech divers: 32.8%)
- 71.2%: Active: An attempt to fight or escape from the situation (tech divers: 67.2%)
In what type of dive did the panic or near-panic happen?
- 21.4%: Tech diving, including rebreathers (tech divers: 61.4%)
- 78.6%: Recreational diving, excluding tech diving (tech divers: 38.6%)
Panic and near-panic happen in tech diving as well as in standard recreational diving.
What was the purpose of the dive during which they experienced panic or near-panic?
- 25.6%: Receiving Training (tech divers: 22.4%)
- 3.5%: Providing Training (tech divers: 5.2%)
- 3.5%: Guiding Other Divers (tech divers: 0.0%)
- 58.6%: For Recreational Purposes (tech divers: 56.9%)
More than one out of four divers who experienced panic or near-panic did so while receiving training. It appears that developing scuba diving instructors’ ability to deal with a panicking student should be an important area of career development training.
What was their role in the dive during which they experienced panic or near-panic?
- 10.4%: Instructor, leader, or more experienced member of the team (tech divers: 10.3%)
- 38.1%: Student or less experienced member of the team (tech divers: 24.1%)
- 51.5%: Diver as part of a team with divers of similar ability (tech divers: 65.5%)
At what depth did they experience panic or near-panic?
- 53.7%: Less than 60 feet / 18 meters (tech divers: 41.4%)
- 27.1%: Between 60 feet / 18 meters and 100 feet / 30 meters (tech divers: 19.0%)
- 12.8%: Between 100 feet / 18 meters and 130 feet / 40 meters (tech divers: 20.7%)
- 6.4%: More than 130 feet / 40 meters (tech divers: 19.0%)
What was the outcome of their panic or near-panic?
Respondents could select more than one answer.
- 1.5%: Injury (tech divers: 1.7%)
- 3.9%: Needed to be rescued (tech divers: 3.5%)
- 89.2%: Was OK / No harm (tech divers: 89.7%)
- 17.7%: Other (tech divers: 17.2%)
How many dives had they done prior to their panic or near-panic?
- 46.8%: Less than 100 (tech divers: 24.1%)
- 23.2%: 100 or more, but less than 250 (tech divers: 22.4%)
- 12.3%: 250 or more, but less than 500 (tech divers: 20.7%)
- 17.7%: 500 or more (tech divers: 32.8%)
Even experienced divers with more than 500 dives can face panic while scuba diving.
About Witnessing Panic or Near-Panic in Another Diver
Among survey respondents, 67.0% had witnessed panic or near-panic in another diver. That’s huge!
- 46.9% witnessed another diver experience panic to the point of losing control of what he/she was doing (tech divers: 52.5%)
- 44.8% witnessed another diver experiencing near-panic (tech divers: 50.0%)
For the following questions, survey participants were asked to think of the dive during which they witnessed the most significant case of another diver in panic or near-panic.
What form did the other diver’s panic or near-panic take?
- 22.8%: Passive — A disconnection from what your body was doing, either freezing in place, or mechanically performing actions without being aware (tech divers: 18.4%)
- 77.3%: Active: An attempt to fight or escape from the situation (tech divers: 81.6%)
In what type of dives did they witness another diver in panic or near-panic?
- 7.7%: Tech diving, including rebreathers (tech divers: 20.0%)
- 92.3%: Recreational diving, excluding tech diving (tech divers: 80.0%)
What was the role of the diver in panic or near-panic?
- 7.7%: Instructor, leader, or more experienced member of the team (tech divers: 6.0%)
- 59.8%: Student or less experienced member of the team (tech divers: 60.0%)
- 32.5%: Diver as part of a team with divers of similar ability (tech divers: 34.0%)
At what depth was the diver in panic or near-panic?
- 65.1%: Less than 60 feet / 18 meters (tech divers: 66.0%)
- 21.3%: Between 60 feet / 18 meters and 100 feet / 30 meters (tech divers: 12.0%)
- 9.5%: Between 100 feet / 18 meters and 130 feet / 40 meters (tech divers: 12.0%)
- 4.1%: More than 130 feet / 40 meters (tech divers: 10.0%)
What was the outcome with the diver in panic or near-panic?
Survey respondents could select all that applied.
- 3.0%: Injury (tech divers: 0.0%)
- 25.8%: Needed to be rescued (tech divers: 22.0%)
- 68.9%: Was OK / No harm (tech divers: 68.0%)
- 16.8%: Other (tech divers: 20.0%)
Panic & Near-Panic As Seen By Tech Diving Instructors
21.4% of tech diving instructors who answered the survey have had a student in panic or near-panic. Being ready to deal with panic and near-panic divers is important. It is part of the job!
35.7% of tech diving instructors who answered the survey have refused to train a diver because of the risk they may panic.
If you are a tech diving instructor, you have one chance out of five to have to deal with a student in panic. Are you ready?
This post only presented the quantitive analysis of the survey results. There is a lot to be looked at in the open-ended questions. Subscribe to know when these results will be published.
And follow Dr. Laura Walton for other analyses and discussions about panic and near-panic in scuba diving.
Also from Darcy Kieran:
- Handbook: Your Career and/or Life as a Scuba Diving Instructor: How to Make a Good Living Out of Your Passion for Scuba Diving.
- Logbook: Advanced Scuba Diving Logbook with Checklists for certified scuba divers, divemasters & dive instructors.
- Handbook: Advanced Guide to SPF Scuba Diving for Scuba Divers, Divemasters & Dive Instructors: Develop Better Scuba Diving Skills, Dive Safer, Save Money & Have More Fun!
- Handbook: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide To Scuba Diving: How to Increase Safety, Save Money & Have More Fun!
- Logbook: STARTER Scuba Diving Logbook with Checklists while getting your open water diver certification!
- Reference book: Scuba Diving Industry Market Reports, Data & Statistics.
Side note: During your surface intervals, have a look at my novels with a scuba diving twist, starting with “Mystery of The Blue Dragon” and “Shadows on Ocean Drive.”
You could help the dive industry by taking part in ongoing dive industry surveys. You will also find results from our past scuba diving market studies here.
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What now? Have a look at the complete Scubanomics Table of Contents.
