INTRODUCTION
Sport is one of the most important and effective ways to ensure the preservation of physical and psychological health, as well as the desire to compete, feel the excitement, and excel in competition according to certain rules ( Briguglio et al., 2020). Sports participation has been shown to enhance self-confidence, environmental harmony, and mental well-being ( Goodwin, 2016), highlighting the importance of ensuring inclusive opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in athletics ( Smith and Sparkes, 2019).
The prevalence of disability in Saudi Arabia is 7.1% of the population ( Khalek and Elsabbagh, 2022). For many years, people with disabilities have been subject to exclusion due to stigma and socio-cultural prejudices directed against them ( Trani et al., 2016; Hammad and Awed, 2023). With the establishment of the Special Olympics in 1968, the world’s largest sports movement for people with disabilities, increased efforts have been made to transform this policy of exclusion of people with disabilities into a policy of participation in the spirit of empowerment ( Tynedal and Wolbring, 2013).
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia established the Saudi Federation for sports with disabilities in 1991 and opened 12 training centers for people with disabilities, and the name of the federation was changed to the Saudi Arabian Paralympic Committee in 2014. As a result, 15 sports centers for people with disabilities were created and opened. In 2012, five additional clubs for people with disabilities were opened, and in 2013 the centers for people with disabilities were transformed into sports clubs for people with disabilities by the Saudi Arabian Paralympic Committee 2014. In 2021, the Ministry of Sports launched the “Pride program” initiative, organized by the Saudi Paralympic Committee and part of the quality-of-life program, toward achieving the goals of Vision 2030 ( Agency, 2023). Its idea is based on the rehabilitation of people with disabilities, discovering and developing their sports abilities, promoting social integration, quality of life, and physical and psychological health, enhancing their community participation in sports activities, and creating sports champions among them at the local and global levels ( Zahra et al., 2022; Alanazi, 2023).
Sports activities show increasing success, even if the acceptance of people with disabilities in society still needs to be improved ( Alhumaid et al., 2022). Against the background of the stigma model that still exists in people with disabilities, promoting self-determination and increasing the efficiency required in the framework of inclusion ( Hamad and Awed, 2016; Alsharif, 2019; Hammad and Awed, 2020; Hammad, 2021), the motives that push people with disabilities to carry out their actions should be identified. They should be seriously considered and analyzed in depth. You should carefully listen to their desires, goals, and motives. This is the only way to improve support and strengthen their participation in sports activities. In this way, the requirements of the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (2009) can be brought closer to being implemented, which explicitly calls for people with disabilities to participate equally in sports as people with no disabilities ( Lang et al., 2011).
Therefore, this study is conducted to fill this research gap by identifying the motivation factors for people with disabilities to participate in sports activities, as well as the impact of these motivation factors in terms of age, gender, type of disability, and educational status. We assume that internal and external factors of motivation have an active influence on the participation of people with disabilities in the practice of sports activities.
LITERATURE REVIEW
People with disabilities often face obstacles and social exclusion when trying to adapt to the social environment in which they live, and disability provokes negative perceptions and discrimination in many societies. As a result of the stigma associated with disability, people with disabilities are generally excluded from active participation in many life activities. For example, the exclusion of people with disabilities from participating in sports leads to many life problems for people with disabilities and their families, as well as depriving them of basic opportunities to enhance their well-being ( Wasserman et al., 2020; Awed and Hammad, 2022; Tüzer and Demirel, 2022).
Several studies have indicated the importance of mainstreaming the practice of sports activities in people with disabilities, for example, Kissow (2015), Albrecht et al. (2019), Elmose-Østerlund et al. (2019), Tüzer and Demirel (2022), Yılmaz et al. (2022), and Karakoç (2023). There are many more positive effects of sports on the quality of life of people with disabilities practicing sports activities than others who do not ( Shapiro and Malone, 2016), in addition to the excellence of athletes with disabilities, their sense of freedom from the constraints of disability, and their ability to turn it into a challenge that can be easily overcome ( Smith and Sparkes, 2019). The development of sports from a mere rehabilitation treatment and an entertainment program to competitions has changed the world’s views toward people with disabilities and directed them to be able to give and contribute to the development of society ( Top and Akil, 2021a).
In addition, exercise is an important means of integrating people with disabilities and participating in the development of society ( Elmose-Østerlund et al., 2019). Participation in sports activities has a good ability to promote the social inclusion of people with disabilities in society ( Albrecht et al., 2019). Hence, one of the important social roles that sports clubs should play is to promote the participation of people with disabilities in sports clubs ( Corthouts et al., 2020), as well as projects that sports clubs are implementing, through which it is possible to help integrate specific target groups, such as people with disabilities (as claimed by Waardenburg and Nagel, 2019). Therefore, the practice of sports activities can be viewed as a constructive tool to promote social inclusion, which contributes to improving the quality of life for people with disabilities ( Piatt et al., 2018). This is what many studies have revealed: sport promotes the social inclusion of people with disabilities and also contributes to enhancing the quality of life and intellectual health of people with disabilities ( Kissow, 2015; Piatt et al., 2018; Albrecht et al., 2019; Elmose-Østerlund et al., 2019).
However, people with disabilities do not have the same opportunities to participate in sports activities as non-disabled people ( King et al., 2014; Elmose-Østerlund et al., 2019; Smith and Sparkes, 2019). In order to close this gap, barriers to these people with disabilities must be removed; they must be encouraged and supported to engage in sports activities, and their motivation levels must be increased ( Top and Akil, 2021a). There are many obstacles that prevent people with disabilities from participating in sports activities, such as personal, for example, lack of self-confidence, lack of physical fitness, and poor awareness among people with disabilities of their sports rights ( Shields et al., 2012; Jaarsma et al., 2014; Elmose-Østerlund et al., 2019; Declerck et al., 2021); social (e.g. lack of peers and fear of social interaction) ( Declerck et al., 2021); environmental; and structural obstacles (e.g. lack of facilities and equipment, insufficient transport, and lack of time) ( Elmose-Østerlund et al., 2019). In addition to these barriers, lack of motivation is an important factor ( Top and Akil, 2021a).
Similarly, other studies have indicated that people with disabilities have similar levels of motivation to people with no disabilities, such as improving their sports skills, enjoying competing with others, pursuing their goals, participating in a team, enjoying participating in activities, and achieving victory and success ( Yilmaz et al., 2020; Tüzer and Demirel, 2022). According to Yilmaz et al. (2020), there are also problems that prevent people with disabilities from participating in sports, such as poor motivation. Motivation is the element that activates behavior ( Ouariachi et al., 2020) and the direction and intensity of the effort exerted by the individual ( Wasserman et al., 2020).
Motivation is also seen as a phenomenon that pushes an individual and is directed toward an action, which may arouse a person’s interest to actually carry out the action ( Reeve, 2018). Accordingly, it relies on motivation as an important and fundamental element in provoking, directing, and maintaining the continuity of behavior ( Wasserman et al., 2020). According to Reeve (2018), there are two types of factors that affect motivation: internal and external. Internal factors include an individual’s beliefs, attitudes, and emotions, which in turn can influence or motivate behavior in the form of personal values and beliefs, self-efficacy, and emotional states ( Afandi and Heri, 2016). External factors include the presence or absence of rewards, where rewards are either substantial, such as satisfaction and pleasure derived from engaging in an activity, or tangible, such as money or recognition; for example, if an individual sees a reward as a sign of achievement or recognition, it may increase his motivation to pursue a goal or engage in an activity ( Clarke and McCann, 2016; Kerstajn et al., 2018). In light of this information, it can be said that these factors are a reason for mastery and guidance, intensity, and persistence of behavior ( Soleas, 2021).
When the concept of motivation is examined by the logic of orientation or orientation toward sports, it becomes necessary to popularize sports, especially among people with disabilities, and determine the dynamics that can be used in this direction ( Deci and Olson, 2012). People with disabilities may have many different sources of internal and external motivation to exercise ( Kerstajn et al., 2018); for example, an individual’s finding happiness and superiority, achieving self-esteem, and acquiring skills in participating in sports constitute a source of internal motivation; factors such as reward and appreciation also constitute external sources of motivation ( Tendinha et al., 2021). Several studies have been conducted on the motivation of people with no disabilities to participate in sports ( Duda, 2005; Deci and Olson, 2012; Kerr, 2013; Pelletier et al., 2013; Deaner et al., 2016; Gardner et al., 2017; Diehl et al., 2018; Beckmann and Kossak, 2018; Moradi et al., 2020; Tendinha et al., 2021). On the other hand, there are studies on the motivation of people with disabilities toward sports activities, albeit rare ( Demir et al., 2018; Yilmaz et al., 2021; Top and Akil, 2021a; Tüzer and Demirel, 2022).
METHODS
Participants
The current study sample consisted of 205 people with disabilities, 64.87% of whom were males. The sample was selected from people with disabilities affiliated with three sports clubs in the south of Saudi Arabia, and the age of the participants ranged from 18 to 40 years [mean (M) = 29.8 years, standard deviation (SD) = 3.82]. Using the method of purposeful sampling, data were sampled from 240 people involved in club sports such as athletics, volleyball, football, table tennis, swimming, wheelchair tennis, and karate. There were 14 people with disabilities who did not provide informed consent to participate, and 21 people with disabilities did not respond. The sample eventually reached 205 people with disabilities. Socio-demographic characteristics are presented in Table 1.
Demographic characteristics of the study participants.
| Demographic characteristics | N | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Gender | ||
| Male | 133 | 64.87 |
| Female | 72 | 35.12 |
| Age | ||
| 18-23 | 61 | 27.31 |
| 24-30 | 85 | 42.43 |
| 31-40 | 59 | 30.24 |
| Type of disability | ||
| Physical disability | 69 | 33.65 |
| Intellectual disability | 43 | 20.97 |
| Visual disability | 60 | 29.26 |
| Hearing disability | 33 | 16.09 |
| Educational level | ||
| Tertiary education | 44 | 21.46 |
| Illiterate | 36 | 17.56 |
| Primary academic | 53 | 25.85 |
| Secondary academic | 72 | 35.12 |
| High academic | 44 | 21.46 |
N refers to the number of participants.
Instruments
The “personal information form” was created by the researchers to collect information about the participants. The form included questions related to gender, age, type of disability, and academic level.
The motivation scale for sports participation of people with disabilities
The Motivation Scale for Sports Participation of People with Disabilities (MSSPPD) developed by Demir et al. (2018) was used to assess participants’ motivation for sports participation. This 22-item instrument consists of three sub-dimensions: internal motivation (items 1-12), external motivation (items 13-17), and amotivation (items 18-22). Internal motivation captures enjoyment, satisfaction, and inherent desire to participate in sports. External motivation measures participation driven by external rewards or recognition. Amotivation, which requires reverse coding due to its negative elements, assesses lack of motivation or direction toward sports activities. MSSPPD utilizes a 5-point Likert scale (1= strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) with higher scores indicating greater motivation for sports. Higher scores indicate greater motivation for sports. Demir et al. (2018) reported strong internal consistency for MSSPPD; and in this study, it demonstrated good reliability with Cronbach’s alpha exceeding 0.78 for all sub-dimensions. While the original study suggests validity, future research could explore this further.
To ensure that all participants understood the survey, a meticulous translation process was undertaken for the MSSPPD scale, particularly crucial for athletes with hearing disabilities. First, a bilingual professor translated the English version into Arabic, followed by back-translation into English by another fluent professor. Three specialists—one in Arabic, another in psychology, and a third in English—reviewed both versions for accuracy, leading to revisions of the final Arabic questionnaire. Recognizing the need for sign language communication, a specialist translated the finalized Arabic version for participants who preferred it. Additionally, a coach experienced in working with hearing-impaired athletes directly communicated with them and administered the questionnaires during club visits.
Data collection
The data collection occurred between July and August 2023. Prior to initiating data collection, contact was made with sports clubs through the club president or other club members. After securing the support and approval of each club, people with disabilities were contacted via a link containing information about the study and the survey. Coaches who could effectively communicate with club members with disabilities assisted in clarifying the purpose of the scale and providing guidance on how to answer it accurately.
Participants were informed that completion of the questionnaire would imply consent to voluntary participation. Additionally, people with disabilities were given the option to provide written consent via the link sent to them. It was emphasized that all information obtained would remain strictly confidential and would be used solely for scientific research purposes.
The survey link included a questionnaire concerning participants’ demographic information and the tool described in the Study Tools section. Ethical approval for the study was obtained from Najran University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Approval number: KSRG-2022-097). Furthermore, all research procedures adhered to the principles outlined in the Helsinki Declaration.
Data analysis
Statistical analyses were carried out using version 20 of the SPSS program. The internal consistency of the study instruments was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients. In addition, appropriate descriptive statistics (M and SD or/and %) were calculated as the first step in the analysis. For bivariate and multivariate comparisons, the t-test was used, and a variance analysis (ANOVA) was applied.
RESULTS
To determine the motivating factors for people with disabilities to participate in sports activities, the average, SD, and percentages were used ( Table 2).
Factors motivating people with disabilities to participate in sports activities ( n = 205).
| Scale | M | SD | Percentage | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internal motivation | ||||
| Sport minimizes my imperfections. | 3.65 | 51 | 65 | 11 |
| Sport makes you feel free. | 4.18 | 1.32 | 75.6 | 2 |
| Sports give you the ability to cope with difficulties. | 3.83 | 1.15 | 68.6 | 10 |
| Sports make me know my limits. | 3.66 | 0.88 | 69.2 | 7 |
| Thanks to sport, I can cope with the barrier. | 3.58 | 0.52 | 63.6 | 12 |
| Winning in sport gives me pleasure. | 4.12 | 0.98 | 74.4 | 3 |
| Discovering my talents makes me happy. | 4.09 | 0.94 | 73.8 | 4 |
| Sport boosts my personal development. | 3.89 | 0.83 | 69.8 | 8 |
| I think sport has a positive effect on my physical development. | 4.31 | 1.11 | 78.4 | 1 |
| Exercise increases my endurance. | 3.93 | 0.85 | 70.6 | 6 |
| Exercise increases muscle mass. | 3.85 | 0.44 | 69 | 9 |
| I feel good when I do sport. | 3.99 | 0.51 | 71.8 | 5 |
| Total | 3.92 | 0.54 | 70.8 | |
| External motivation | ||||
| I do sports to be an example to my disabled friends. | 3.72 | 0.77 | 74.4 | 3 |
| I believe that sport has given me status. | 4.13 | 1.25 | 82.6 | 1 |
| I am referring to sports success stories in the media. | 3.92 | 0.83 | 78.4 | 2 |
| Sport is a social security tool for me. | 3.62 | 1.22 | 72.4 | 4 |
| I like showing my talents to others. | 3.58 | 0.59 | 71.6 | 5 |
| Total | 3.79 | 1.36 | 75.8 | |
| Non-motivation | ||||
| I spend time and effort on sports, but I don’t know if it is worth it. | 3.42 | 0.82 | 68.4 | 5 |
| I am not sure what sport has brought me. | 3.73 | 0.91 | 74.6 | 3 |
| I am an athlete, but sporting is not for me. | 4.02 | 1.13 | 80.4 | 1 |
| I am an athlete, but I do not do sports if I can. | 3.81 | 0.75 | 76.2 | 2 |
| I have no idea how far I can go in my branch. | 3.58 | 0.86 | 71.6 | 4 |
| Total | 3.71 | 1.20 | 74.2 | |
M, mean; SD, standard deviation.
The results of Table 2 indicate that the average dimension of internal motivation (M = 3.92) was the largest motivation of people with disabilities compared to the rest of the dimensions, followed by the dimension of external motivation (M = 3.79). In the dimension of internal motivation, the average score of people with disabilities in the item “I think sports have a positive impact on my physical development” (M = 3.91) is higher than the average score of other items, “sports make you feel free” (M = 3.78), followed by the item “Winning in sport gives me pleasure.” (M = 3.72). According to the item under the external motivation, the average scores of people with disabilities in the items were “I believe that sport has given me status.” (M = 4.13) is higher than the averages of other elements. In addition, when taking into account other external motivation elements, the item “I’m referring to sports success stories in the media” ranked second with an average (M = 3.92). In the dimension of non-motivation, the element “I’m an athlete, but sporting isn’t for me” (M = 4.02) was higher than the rest of the elements in this dimension. Table 3 shows the results of a variance analysis conducted to examine differences in the level of motivation based on gender, age, type of disability, and academic level.
Multi analysis results examining motivational scale scores by study variables.
| Source | Type III sum of squares | df | Mean square | F | Sig. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corrected model | 10,142.516 a | 55 | 181.409 | 5.177 | 0.001 |
| Intercept | 483,344.46 | 1 | 483,344.46 | 13,569.402 | 0.001 |
| Gender | 8.074 | 1 | 8.074 | 0.227 | 0.635 |
| Age | 720.412 | 2 | 360.206 | 10.112 | 0.001 |
| Type of disability | 1371.593 | 3 | 457.198 | 12.835 | 0.001 |
| Academic level | 825.611 | 3 | 275.204 | 7.726 | 0.001 |
| Error | 53.7.406 | 149 | 20.852 | ||
| Total | 1,359,807.0 | 205 | |||
| Corrected Total | 15,449.922 | 204 |
F, frequency; df, difference; Sig., significance.
a R 2 = 0.656 (adjusted R 2 = 0.530).
The results shown in Table 3 indicate the presence of significant differences in the demographic variables age, type of disability, and academic level, while there were no significant differences in the gender variable. To further assess the nature of these differences, multiple comparisons of the dimensions of motivation based on gender, age, type of disability, and academic level were carried out. Table 4 shows the results of the ANOVA test conducted to determine the motives for the sports participation of athletes according to the type of disability.
Multiple comparison of motivational factors based on type of disability.
| Variables | Type of disability | N | M | SD | F | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internal motivation | Physical disability | 69 | 4.36 | 0.69 | 44.69 | 0.00 |
| Intellectual disability | 43 | 3.28 | 0.59 | |||
| Visual disability | 60 | 3.53 | 0.70 | |||
| Hearing disability | 33 | 3.01 | 0.58 | |||
| External motivation | Physical disability | 69 | 3.70 | 0.43 | 12.33 | 0.00 |
| Intellectual disability | 43 | 3.93 | 0.46 | |||
| Visual disability | 60 | 4.01 | 0.46 | |||
| Hearing disability | 33 | 3.55 | 0.32 | |||
| Non-motivation | Physical disability | 69 | 3.53 | 0.32 | 8.52 | 0.00 |
| Intellectual disability | 43 | 3.85 | 0.30 | |||
| Visual disability | 60 | 3.62 | 0.41 | |||
| Hearing disability | 33 | 3.84 | 0.41 |
M, mean; SD, standard deviation.
The results of Table 4 indicate the presence of significant differences in the dimensions of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and the sub-motivation of non-motivation according to the type of disability of the participants. It was found that the average internal motivation score of physically disabled people (M = 4.36) is much higher than the average scores of other types of disabilities. It turns out that the average external motivation of people with visual disability (M = 4.01) is much higher than that of other types of disabilities. However, it is clear that people with intellectual disabilities (M = 3.85) were higher in the non-motivation branch compared to peers with other disabilities. To identify differences in the dimensions of motivation based on age, the ANOVA test was applied to determine differences in the motivation for sports participation of people with disabilities according to age ( Table 5).
Multiple comparison of differences in motivational factors based on age.
| Variables | Type of disability | N | M | SD | F | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internal motivation | 18-23 years | 61 | 4.22 | 0.79 | 25.4 | 0.01 |
| 24-30 years | 85 | 3.52 | 0.70 | |||
| 31-40 years | 59 | 3.27 | 0.81 | |||
| External motivation | 18-23 years | 61 | 3.58 | 0.44 | 7.34 | 0.01 |
| 24-30 years | 85 | 3.76 | 0.45 | |||
| 31-40 years | 59 | 3.88 | 0.48 | |||
| Non-motivation | 18-23 years | 61 | 3.81 | 0.47 | 8.78 | 0.01 |
| 24-30 years | 85 | 3.69 | 0.52 | |||
| 31-40 years | 59 | 3.51 | 0.41 |
M, mean; SD, standard deviation.
The results in Table 5 indicate the presence of significant differences in the dimensions of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and non-motivation according to the age of the participants. It was found that the average internal motivation score of older adults (M = 3.27) is lower than the average age of their peers with disabilities. The average external motivation of older adults (M = 3.88) is higher than the average age of their peers with disabilities. The results also indicated that those with a lower age of people with disabilities (M = 3.81) were higher in the non-motivation branch compared to the ages of their peers with other disabilities. To identify differences in the dimensions of motivation based on the academic level, the ANOVA test was applied to determine the differences in the motivation for sports participation of people with disabilities according to the academic level ( Table 6).
Multiple comparison of differences in motivational factors based on academic level.
| Variables | Type of disability | N | M | SD | F | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internal motivation | Illiterate | 36 | 3.08 | 0.73 | 15.42 | 0.01 |
| Primary academic | 65 | 3.61 | 0.68 | |||
| Secondary academic | 81 | 3.73 | 0.71 | |||
| High academic | 58 | 4.23 | 0.99 | |||
| External motivation | Illiterate | 36 | 3.68 | 0.41 | 2.70 | 0.04 |
| Primary academic | 65 | 3.69 | 0.43 | |||
| Secondary academic | 81 | 3.72 | 0.49 | |||
| High academic | 58 | 3.91 | 0.51 | |||
| Non-motivation | Illiterate | 36 | 3.64 | 0.39 | 6.13 | 0.01 |
| Primary academic | 65 | 3.67 | 0.40 | |||
| Secondary academic | 81 | 3.69 | 0.41 | |||
| High academic | 58 | 3.86 | 0.42 |
M, mean; SD, standard deviation.
According to Table 6, which compared the dimensions of motivation for sports participation of people with disabilities, it is clear that there are significant differences between all the sub-dimensions of motivation, where the average internal and external motivation (M = 4.23; M = 3.91) is higher for disabled people with a higher academic level compared to other academic levels. However, the average lack of motivation among disabled people with a higher academic level was lower compared to other academic levels.
To identify differences in the dimensions of motivation based on gender, the t-test was employed to determine differences in the motivation of sports participation of people with disabilities according to gender ( Table 7).
t-Test analysis of motivation based on gender.
| Variables | Male | Female | t | Sig. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (134) | (71) | |||||
| M | SD | M | SD | |||
| Internal motivation | 0.67 | 0.82 | 3.62 | 0.81 | 0.44 | 0.65 * |
| External motivation | 3.75 | 0.45 | 3.74 | 0.43 | 0.19 | 0.84 * |
| Non-motivation | 3.65 | 0.40 | 3.71 | 0.41 | 0.75 | 0.46 * |
M, mean; SD, standard deviation.
*Statistically significant at P < 0.05 level.
Table 7 shows the results of the t-test conducted to compare differences in the dimensions of motivation based on sex. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the dimensions of motivation between males and females.
DISCUSSION
It is an important responsibility of society to encourage people with disabilities to engage in sports activities, increase their motivation levels to participate in sports activities, and maintain their motivation level. In this regard, the current study was conducted to examine the motives for sports participation among athletes in various disability categories (physical, intellectual, visual, and auditory). As well as the impact of these motivation factors in terms of age, gender, type of disability, and academic Level.
The results indicated that the internal motivation dimension is the highest motivation of people with disabilities to engage in sports activities, followed by external motivation, as internal motivation contributes significantly to participation in competitive sports through the development of effective long-term strategies to support the trend toward increasing sports commitment among people with disabilities, and participation in challenging activities may have a strong impact on the participation of people with disabilities in sports. In general, meeting the needs, interests, and curiosity of an individual is one of the important internal factors that have a strong impact on sports participation among people with disabilities, and external factors such as rewards, awards, recognition, and popularity are also important factors that follow the internal factors to motivate people with disabilities to participate in sports activities. These results are consistent with previous studies ( Wang and Biddle, 2003; Deci and Olson, 2012; Kerr, 2013; Moradi et al., 2020; Yilmaz et al., 2020; Tüzer and Demirel, 2022).
The results of the study in the dimension of internal motivation also showed that the average scores of people with disabilities in the element “I think that sport has a positive impact on my physical development” are higher than the average scores of the rest of the elements, followed by the element “sport makes you feel free,” followed by the item “Winning in sport gives me pleasure.”. According to the items under the external motivation, the average scores of people with disabilities in the item were “I believe that sport has given me status.” Higher than the averages of other elements. In addition, when taking into account other external motivation elements, the item “I’m referring to sports success stories in the media” ranked second.
And in the dimension of non-motivation, the element “I’m an athlete, but sporting isn’t for me” was higher than the rest of the other elements in this dimension. This can be explained by the fact that playing sports in general contributes to the development of physical aspects in people who are not disabled or with disabilities, and therefore people with disabilities feel that playing sports contributes to the development of basic physical, physiological, and motor skills. Therefore, this motivation is considered one of the most important internal motives in people with disabilities. In fact, with a social and public approach, there are studies that support all developmental dimensions of sports as well as being related to physical development ( Demir et al., 2018).
It can also be explained by the fact that the element that makes people with disabilities feel free is one of the highest elements compared to the rest, since the need to act independently is at the forefront of the motives of people with disabilities ( Murcia et al., 2007). According to the items after the external motivation, we find that the external motivating factors for people with disabilities (gaining status, emulating success stories, social security, role models, and means of demonstrating their abilities) are very important because people with disabilities feel stigmatized and want to feel that they have a place in society despite their disability. The success stories they see about some athletes with disabilities are considered one of the most important external motives for them to enhance their participation in sports activities. These results are consistent with many previous studies ( Deci and Olson, 2012; Kerr, 2013; Deaner et al., 2016; Demir et al., 2018; Kerstajn et al., 2018; Moradi et al., 2020).
The results also indicated that there were significant differences in the level of motivation according to the type of disability in athletes with physical, intellectual, visual, and hearing disabilities. Specifically, the results indicated that the level of internal motivation of physically disabled athletes was significantly higher than that of other disability groups. This may be due to the fact that athletes with physical disabilities are influenced by their inner world more than others when participating in sports, and internal motivation factors, such as their ability to overcome barriers, positive impact on physical development, as well as enjoyment, excitement, pleasure, happiness, and inner desire for sports, are more pronounced compared to other athletes with disabilities, and the results of this study are consistent with the results of a previous study ( Tekkurşun Demir and Ilhan, 2020). On the other hand, the results indicated that the dimension of external motivation is much higher in athletes with visual disability than in athletes with intellectual disability, hearing disability, and physical disability. In this context, it can be concluded that athletes with visual disabilities may be affected by the environment more than other athletes with other disabilities, and their desire to gain popularity by receiving rewards, awards, recognition, and popularity is higher than that of athletes with other disabilities. And in the sub-dimension of lack of motivation, numerous studies have shown that people with visual disabilities are equally motivated to exercise and behave healthily as people without disabilities ( Demir and Ilhan, 2020; Top and Akil, 2021b).
The results of the study also indicated that people with hearing disabilities are less motivated than their peers with other disabilities. This may be due to the fact that people with hearing disabilities are affected at a higher level by the negative attitudes of society, as well as suffering from negatives such as fear of stigma and humiliation. This was confirmed by a study ( Bozkurt et al., 2019), which compared people with visual, hearing, and physical disabilities in terms of analyzing their motivation to participate in sports and found that the level of motivation of people with hearing disabilities is lower than that of their peers with other disabilities. Hence, factors that reduce the motivation of hearing-impaired people should be identified and eliminated.
In the sub-dimension of lack of motivation, it was found that the average scores of intellectually disabled athletes were significantly higher than those of athletes with motor disabilities, visual disabilities, and hearing disabilities. Therefore, it can be said that intellectually disabled athletes are less able to link the reasons for participating in sports and their results compared to athletes with other types of disabilities ( Alanazi, 2023). Comparing another variable of our study, the academic level and motivation dimensions of sports participation in people with disabilities, the authors found that there are significant differences in all sub-dimensions of motivation. The average internal and external motivation was higher for people with academic disabilities compared to other academic levels. This may be due to the fact that the higher the academic level of people, the more they become aware and motivated, whether internal or external ( Yilmaz et al., 2021). For example, he has an awareness that playing sports contributes to his personal development and has a positive effect on his physical development and his ability to discover his talents and abilities, as well as a feeling that sports give him a higher status than the benefits accrue to him ( Alanazi, 2023). These results are consistent with the study ( Yilmaz et al., 2020; Yilmaz et al., 2021; Abakay et al., 2023).
Limitation
While this study offers interesting insights into the impact of motivation in promoting sports participation for people with disabilities, it suffers from several limitations that must be taken into account when trying to generalize the results to other contexts.
First, the existing sample was biased due to the selected sampling and data collection methods. When we contacted the volunteers via social media, we only reached out to people with disabilities who had access to social media and the internet. These participants may not represent the general population of people with disabilities participating in sports clubs in southern Saudi Arabia. However, the method of online data collection and the relevant sampling method were the only ways to provide potential participants with disabilities with a sense of anonymity, which is necessary for people with disabilities to fill out the questionnaire correctly to avoid feeling ashamed when filling it out in front of officials.
Moreover, the sample size was too small to be representative at the level of southern Saudi Arabia, but estimated using G*Power recommendations (which is a tool for calculating the required sample size based on a wide range of tests) on predefined power and error 205 limits. Therefore, the sample of people with disabilities provides some reliability for the current analyses.
Future comparative studies with sports clubs located in other regions of Saudi Arabia will provide a more comprehensive understanding of other motivation-related variables. In the future, it will be interesting to study the role of friends, coaches, and family members in enhancing the motivation of sports people with disabilities. Comparative analysis between non-disabled athletes and athletes with disabilities can also contribute to the development of an effective analysis of methods of motivation toward sports activities, taking into account demographic variables during the comparison. Despite being one of the few studies to investigate this topic among people with disabilities, limitations exist that future research should address to gain more generalizable and robust insights. A larger, more diverse, and representative sample from Saudi Arabia is recommended for future investigations.
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
This paper describes the rationale, design, and methods of a cross-sectional study on the impact of motivation on promoting the practice of sports activities in people with disabilities. To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to assess the impact of motivation on promoting the practice of sports activities in this population.
In this study, we assumed that internal and external reinforcement has an effective role in enhancing the participation of people with disabilities in sports activities, and we also assumed that demographic factors have an impact on the level of motivation. This study analyzed the data of 205 people with disabilities participating in three sports clubs. The results showed a high level of motivation, both internal and external, among the sample of athletes with disabilities to participate in sports activities, with significant differences based on age, type of disability, and type of sport, while there were no significant differences in gender. Specifically, the results showed that athletes with lower age disabilities have a higher level of internal motivation.
The results also indicated the presence of statistically significant differences in the level of motivation according to the type of disability in athletes with physical, intellectual, visual, and hearing disabilities. Specifically, the results indicated that the level of internal motivation of physically disabled athletes was much higher than other disability categories, and on the other hand, we find that the dimension of external motivation is much higher in athletes with visual disability than other disability categories.
Growing research provides strong evidence of the important impact of the motivation effect in promoting the practice of sports activities in people with disabilities. The practice of sports activities, sports clubs, and sports in general contributes to reducing stigma and discrimination associated with people with disabilities. In addition, sports contribute to changing the attitudes of members of society toward people with disabilities by highlighting their skills and personal potential. Through sports, they can express themselves, reduce dependence on others, and develop independence, positive social interaction, effective communication, and respect for others, all of which effectively contribute to the quality of life and mental health of people with disabilities.