The Effect of Motivation to Participate in Sport on Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviors in Individuals with Physical Disabili-ties

Abstract

Background: This cross sectional study was conducted to analyse the level of motivation and proso-cial as well as antisocial behaviors of the individuals with physical disabilities who do sports, to eval-uate whether their motivational states were related with prosocial and antisocial behaviors, and to determine if the type of disability affect their motivation or prosocial and antisocial behaviors. 
 Method: The research was conducted on 688 individuals who do sports and have physical disabili-ties in various regions of Turkey in 2020. Motivation Scale for Sports Participation of People with Disabilities (MSSPPD), Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior in Sport Scale (PABSS) were used as data collection tools in this research. 
 Results: Motivation to participate in sports level of the individuals with physical disabilities was quite high. Their prosocial behavior towards their teammates and opponents was high, while their antisocial behavior towards teammates and opponent team players was low. When subjects' motiva-tions were examined according to the type of disability, motivation levels of individuals with ortho-pedic and visual disabilities were higher than those of individuals with hearing disabilities.
 Conclusion: As a result, individuals with disabilities need strong motivation to participate in sport programs and this improves them behaviourally. As their motivation for participation in sport in-creased, their prosocial behaviors were positively affected, and their antisocial behaviors decrease.

Participation motivation in disabled athletes

“…Their findings indicated that competitive athletes had higher average values compared to recreational sports participants. Similarly, Top and Akıl [24] identified significant disparities between elite and non-elite athletes. Their study concluded that elite athletes exhibited higher average values in individual, environmental, and causality factors compared to non-elite athletes.…”

Impact of Motivation in Promoting Sports Participation among People with Disabilities

“…There are many more positive effects of sports on the quality of life of people with disabilities practicing sports activities than others who do not (Shapiro and Malone, 2016), in addition to the excellence of athletes with disabilities, their sense of freedom from the constraints of disability, and their ability to turn it into a challenge that can be easily overcome (Smith and Sparkes, 2019). The development of sports from a mere rehabilitation treatment and an entertainment program to competitions has changed the world's views toward people with disabilities and directed them to be able to give and contribute to the development of society (Top and Akil, 2021a).…”

“…However, people with disabilities do not have the same opportunities to participate in sports activities as non-disabled people (King et al, 2014;Elmose-Østerlund et al, 2019;Smith and Sparkes, 2019). In order to close this gap, barriers to these people with disabilities must be removed; they must be encouraged and supported to engage in sports activities, and their motivation levels must be increased (Top and Akil, 2021a). There are many obstacles that prevent people with disabilities from participating in sports activities, such as personal, for example, lack of self-confidence, lack of physical fitness, and poor awareness among people with disabilities of their sports rights (Shields et al, 2012;Jaarsma et al, 2014;Elmose-Østerlund et al, 2019;Declerck et al, 2021); social (e.g.…”

“…lack of facilities and equipment, insufficient transport, and lack of time) (Elmose-Østerlund et al, 2019). In addition to these barriers, lack of motivation is an important factor (Top and Akil, 2021a).…”

“…Several studies have been conducted on the motivation of people with no disabilities to participate in sports (Duda, 2005;Deci and Olson, 2012;Kerr, 2013;Pelletier et al, 2013;Deaner et al, 2016;Gardner et al, 2017;Diehl et al, 2018;Beckmann and Kossak, 2018;Moradi et al, 2020;Tendinha et al, 2021). On the other hand, there are studies on the motivation of people with disabilities toward sports activities, albeit rare (Demir et al, 2018;Yilmaz et al, 2021;Top and Akil, 2021a;Tüzer and Demirel, 2022).…”