Analysis of Participation Incentives Among Athletes With and Without Disabilities

Authors

  • Frank M Basile
  • Douglas A Kleiber
  • Delwin Harnisch

Keywords:

Atheletes, Wheelchair, Sports

Abstract

Many individuals with disabilities devote much time and energy to participation in sport, and because of this it could be assumed that they derive the same satisfaction and benefit from this participation as athletes without disabilities. However, there is little empirical evidence that relates specifically to the value of participation for athletes with disabilities and the motives for such participation. The sample for this study was comprised of athletes with and without disabilities. A survey instrument was developed with items based on general motivation and sport motivation research. A factor analysis of the responses resulted in five participation incentive factors: fitness, ego, task, social integration, and social affective. Results of a regression analysis indicated that level of importance of the sport was the strongest predictor on four of the factor scales, while age, gender and the particular sport still accounted for a modest but significant amount of the variance as well. The most important implications from this study is that there appears to be a general similarity between the athlete who uses a wheelchair and the athlete without a disability, with respect to incentives for participation.

Published

1991-01-01

Issue

Section

Regular Papers