Does danger teach? The mediating role of mental fatigue awareness and the moderating effect of non-fatal drowning experiences on swimmers’ fear and resilience

This cross-sectional, correlational study investigated the relationship between fear of swimming and psychological resilience, focusing on mental fatigue awareness as a mediator and history of non-fatal drowning incidents as a moderator. Data were collected from 624 swimmers in Turkey using the Mental Fatigue Awareness Scale in Athletes, the Brief Resilience Scale, and the Fear of Swimming Scale. Structural equation modeling indicated that fear was negatively associated with resilience through both direct and indirect pathways. Mediation analysis confirmed that mental fatigue awareness functions as an explanatory mechanism, transmitting a substantial portion of fear's impact on resilience. Furthermore, a history of non-fatal drowning demonstrated a significant moderating effect. Specifically, for athletes without such trauma, fear exerted a strong negative impact on resilience; however, for those who had survived a non-fatal drowning incident, this negative relationship was significantly attenuated. These results suggest that surviving a life-threatening aquatic event may induce a form of “psychological inoculation,” buffering the destructive effects of fear in subsequent contexts. For coaches and sport psychologists, these findings suggest that resilience-building interventions should target both the psychological sources of fear and the cognitive consequences of mental fatigue awareness to foster robust athletic performance.