Well-being and quality of life in people with disabilities practicing sports, athletes with disabilities, and para-athletes: Insights from a critical review of the literature

Abstract

Global well-being (GWB) is a complex, multi-dimensional, and multi-faceted construct that can be explored from two different, but often overlapping, complementary perspectives: the subjective and the objective ones. The subjective perspective, in turn, is comprised of two dimensions: namely, the hedonic and the eudaimonic standpoints. Within the former dimension, researchers have developed the concept of subjective hedonic well-being (SHWB), whereas, within the latter, they have built the framework of psychological and social well-being (PSWB). Disabled people have poorer well-being due to their pathology and may more frequently suffer from anxiety and depressive disorders than their able-bodied counterparts. Sports participation is an essential way to cope with disability. On the other hand, compared with their able-bodied peers, athletes with disabilities and para-athletes undergo a unique series of stressors. Little is known in terms of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being and quality of life in this specific population. Here, we review the literature, with an emphasis on the current state-of-art and gaps in knowledge that need to be addressed by future research. High-quality, large-scale investigations are needed to have a better understanding of the self-perceived (hedonic) and objective (eudaimonic) well-being and quality of life of disabled people practicing sports, athletes with disabilities, and para-athletes.

“The show must go on”: How Paralympic athletes safeguarded their mental well-being and motivation to train for the postponed Tokyo 2020 games

“…A similar finding was seen in the study by Fiorilli et al (2021) who reported that only 8.22% of Italian athletes with disabilities compared to 30.14% of athletes without disabilities were affected by subjective distress during the pandemic. Although there is not a huge body of literature available about how the pandemic affects the perceived stress of athletes with disabilities ( Puce et al, 2022 , 2023 ) the opposite might have been expected because emerging research indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic increased psychological distress in the general population and even more among high-risk groups ( Lorant et al, 2021 ). People with disabilities are seen as a high-risk group because they have less access to socioeconomic resources and supportive social networks ( Goldmann and Galea, 2014 ).…”

“…In our study, we used a combination of sport-specific measures of well-being (e.g., BPNSFS) and more general assessments (e.g., PHQ-9, PSS). A future study could benefit from a more conceptual approach taking into account the more recent views and available knowledge ( Puce et al, 2023 ). Finally, we did not include a control sample of recreational or sub-elite athletes with disabilities or elite athletes without disabilities which might also have provided interesting comparisons.…”

Understanding experiences of and influences on well-being in elite para-sport: A qualitative exploration of U.K. para-athletes.

“…Some research to date has suggested that engagement with sport can both positively and negatively affect dimensions of para-athlete well-being (Puce et al, 2023). For example, regular exercise improves bone metabolism and immunology, as well as increases mobility and functional independence—contributing to positive physical well-being (Ponti et al, 2020).…”