The Influence of Exchanges with People with Disabilities and Sports Experience on the Degree of Involvement in Sports for People with Disabilities –Based on the Results of an Internet Survey–

Abstract

An internet survey was conducted to analyze whether exchanges with people with disabilities and the sports experience have an influence on the degree of involvement in sports for people with disabilities. 439 respondents between the ages of 10 to 60 responded, and in the ascending order of the extent of involvement in sports for the disabled, 42 people （9.6%） actually had experience of involvement in the sports for the disabled, 174 people （39.6%） had no actual experience but were interested in information presented by the mass media, and 23 people（ 50.8%） had neither experience nor interest. Comparison of these three groups by the chi-squared test suggested that having a disabled person close to you and having one's own sports experience would increase the degree of involvement in sports for the disabled. Moreover, when implementing measures to increase the degree of involvement in sports for the disabled, it was suggested that the expression “people with disabilities” is more appropriate than the expression “handicapped.”