Factors related to risk-taking behaviour amongst Malaysian recreational scuba divers: The moderating effect of self-esteem

There are challenges to growing diving-related businesses and promoting Malaysia as a safe dive destination. Rising diving accidents may harm the local diving industry’s image, resulting in fewer divers arriving and losing the competitive advantage with other dive destinations in the South-East Asia region. As a result, this study examines the relationships between sensation seeking, risk perception, and buddy influence on diving risk-taking behaviour and its impact on self-esteem as a moderator amongst Malaysian divers. The Theory of Reasoned Action was used as a theoretical foundation, and a cross-sectional type of research with a quantitative method of study was applied. Divers are a homogeneous group of risk-takers, so an area with a cluster sampling method was used to collect data. The survey drew 121 responses from eight dive operators in Pulau Tioman, Malaysia. A hierarchical regression analysis via the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 software was used to test the six hypotheses and the moderating effect of self-esteem. The results revealed that higher self-esteem could weaken the relationships between sensation seeking and buddy influence with diving risk-taking behaviour. In contrast, self-esteem fails to moderate the relationship between risk perception and diving risk-taking behaviour. Aside from theoretical contributions, the study recommends that dive operators should strengthen their standard operating procedures on safety guidelines and policies. Besides, diving-related organisations should continue promoting the benefits of the buddy system and risks of diving on social media, especially to young divers who have high risk-taking behaviour. On top of that, medical and diving facilities at popular dive destinations should also be improved. High safety and health standards will benefit the local diving industry and divers’ community, as well as Malaysia's position as the safest dive destination in the world.