2023 Volume 21 Issue 1 Pages 3-21
One goal of the international Paralympic Games is to eliminate prejudice, discrimination, and exclusion affecting individuals with physical disabilities worldwide. Previous studies have examined the impact of the Paralympic Games on public attitudes towards individuals with physical disabilities and para-athletes. They found that public attitudes toward individuals with physical disabilities and para-athletes were ambivalent because the bodies of para-athletes can be perceived as having both positive and negative valences. The main purpose of the present study was to examine the perception of individuals with physical disabilities and para-athletes, as well as attitudes about interactions, depending on whether respondents watched the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Our secondary objective was to examine divergences in the perception of individuals with physical disabilities versus para-athletes. A total of 1137 men, 1250 women, and 7 others completed a web survey about perceptions of these populations and attitudes about interactions. The analysis of covariance revealed that people who watched the Paralympic Games had a more positive perception of individuals with physical disabilities and para-athletes compared with those who did not watch the games. Additionally, people who watched the games were less reluctant regarding interactions with individuals with physical disabilities. Furthermore, the perception of para-athletes was more positive than the perception of individuals with physical disabilities regardless of whether people watched the games or not. Thus, it appears that the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games is related to aspects of public attitudes toward individuals with physical disabilities.
