The Impact of Follow-Up Special Olympics Athletes on Attitudes Toward Their Social Inclusion

This study aimed to investigate attitudes towards social inclusion of people with disabilities following the Special Olympics athletes among people who follow and do not follow the Games in general, collecting data through a survey questionnaire from 227 participants aged 18 years. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation were used to analyze the data. The results showed that participants generally hold positive attitudes towards social inclusion, particularly in creating inclusive activities tailored to the physical and cognitive abilities and interests of people with disabilities. However, there was some variability in attitudes towards specific aspects of social inclusion, with social activities outside of support services being less valued. Females had slightly more positive attitudes towards social inclusion of people with disabilities following the Special Olympics athletes than males while age was weakly negatively correlated with attitudes toward social inclusion. Overall, this study contributes to our understanding of attitudes towards social inclusion of people with disabilities following the Special Olympics athletes among people who follow and do not follow the Games and provides important implications for policymakers and organizations seeking to promote social inclusion for this population, with the study showing suggestions for tailored inclusive activities, recommendations for increasing positive attitudes, and potential directions for future research.