Impact of adapted and inclusive university soccer on mental health in young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Abstract Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are also at high risk of co-occurring mental health conditions (e.g., anxiety disorders, cognitive deficits). Exercise has been shown to reduce anxiety and may also promote executive functions. Twelve young adults with IDD from a post-secondary transition program at the University participated in a 15-week adapted soccer course alongside typically developing (TD) partners. In addition, two young adults with IDD formed a control group that was not included in further data analysis due to the small sample size. Self-ratings of perceived exercise outcomes, anxiety levels, and three executive tasks (e.g., the Corsi block, reaction time, and mental rotation tasks) were obtained at the pre- and post-tests. The results indicated the observational improvements in the perceived positive outcomes, the simple reaction time task performance, and the Mental Rotation Task accuracy after soccer training. The benefits of perceived exercise benefits, faster information processing speed, and spatial ability can be attributed to their soccer practice with partners twice a week throughout the semester. With a medium to large effect size, a larger sample, additional physiological measures, and comparison group, including TD peers, could help further validate the mental health benefits of adapted and inclusive soccer programs for individuals with IDD. Lastly, the implications of these findings are explored.