Motivations, Coping Skills, Reasons, Barriers, and Facilitators of Sports Participation Among Turkish Rio 2016 Paralympians

Research on Paralympic athletes remains less comprehensive than research on Olympic athletes and has primarily focused on physical and physiological parameters. Further research is needed to better understand psychosocial factors among Paralympic athletes. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the motivations, coping skills, reasons, barriers, and facilitators of Turkish Paralympic athletes who participated in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games according to gender, disability type, and sport type. Seventy-eight Turkish Paralympic athletes participated in this study. Data were collected using the Motivation Scale for Sports Participation of People with Disabilities, the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28, and the Reasons, Barriers, and Facilitators of Sports Inventory. The study revealed that Paralympic athletes' motivation to participate in sports was generally similar across gender, type of disability, and sport, except that extrinsic motivation was higher among female athletes. Differences were found in the sub-dimensions of coping skills based on gender, type of disability, and sport. Additionally, the reasons, barriers, and facilitators for sports participation varied depending on these factors. Although motivation levels among Turkish Paralympic athletes were similar across gender, disability type, and sport, their athletic coping skills, reasons for participation, barriers, and facilitators varied and were influenced by these variables. The findings suggest that policymakers should consider these factors, implement appropriate strategies and policies, and develop regulations aimed at increasing the participation of Paralympic athletes in sports.