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.

The purpose of this study was to determine the process of the change in the perception toward a para-swimmer with low vision in the non-disabled university swimmers by setting the para-swimmer’s training environment in a university swimming club. Hence, the non-disabled university swimming club members who trained together with a para-swimmer with low vision was examined. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 university swimming club members, and the data was analyzed using Modified version of Grounded Theory Approach (M-GTA). The result suggested that the perception of non-disabled university swimmers toward a para-swimmer developed through four stages: Stranger, Acquaintance, Companion and Teammate. In addition, it was suggested that a para-swimmer with low vision would benefit from the environment to train together with non-disabled university swimmers in the university swimming club.

This survey revealed changes in the attitude of not only children with physical impairments but also their parents toward para-swimming. The purpose of this study was to examine factors that allowed athletes to continue para-swimming from Foundation to Talent in the FTEM framework and the support they received from their parents. This study included eight teenagers with physical impairments who participated in para-swimming athlete discovery programs and their respective mothers or fathers. Online interviews were conducted via Zoom. For the analysis, M-GTA (Kinoshita, 2003), which clarifies mutual relationships and behavioral processes, was used. The transformation process of children with physical impairments involves [building the foundation to become an athlete] in the Foundation phase and translating this into [awareness and action as an athlete] in the Talent phase. Factors that encouraged children with physical impairments to continue para-swimming include the support from their parents and friends, sense of achievement from being athletes, and the opportunity to mature as a person. However, the facilitative factors may be common to athletes in general, regardless of the presence of impairments. Parents may provide motivation for their children to participate in sports without worrying about psychological considerations or impairments.