The Relationship between the understanding regarding disability and disabled sport participation behavior

Abstract

Purpose: A factor analysis on participation behavior in disabled sports was carried out in the present study, to clarify the relationship between the awareness and attitude of persons with disabilities. Methods: Study subjects included 220 people who had registered with an Internet research firm. Several items related to the following topics were used: “interest and behavioral changes when the Olympic and Paralympic Games were decided,” “attributes,” “knowledge about, and educational and contact experience with disabled people,” “recognition of disabled sports,” and “behavior of participants in disabled sports.” The path analysis was conducted using Amos, Ver. 21, IBM. Results: In the post-bid Paralympics decision phase, this result did not change for 76.8% of the subjects. In addition, participation behavior to watching behavior displayed a path of 1 factor（ 80% ; R＝.71）. Similarly, the path to volunteering from par ticipation behavior showed a high value of 90% （R＝.81）. Conclusion: Participation behavior was considered as a promoting factor for disabled sport participation and behavior. Having a deeper understanding about disability had a positive effect on being in contact with disabled persons. The Olympic and Paralympic bids were not mere sporting events, but were also seen as opportunities for bringing about changes in the attitudes toward disabled sports.