The Psychosocial Outcomes Among Athletes and Youths with Disabilities

Background: Physical activity (PA) through sports participation can help people with disabilities (PWD) improve their health outcomes (physical, psychological and social). Children also participate in sports because it is fun. The majority of research has focused on the physical outcomes of PA. There is a national call to increase the research into the psychological benefits of PA among PWD.

Purpose: (1) To conduct a pilot study to utilize the Health through Sport Model to determine the effects of wheelchair basketball on physical self-perception and sport enjoyment in youth with disabilities. (2) To conduct a systematic review of research that have used the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (PSDQ) to examine athletes and youths with disabilities. The research questions asked were: (A) Which disability populations have been assessed using the PSDQ and why? (B) Is the PSDQ a good assessment tool to use with the disability population? (C) Which theoretical frameworks have been used and why? (D) How do the researchers interpret the PSDQ data?

Methods: (1) The pilot study is a one-time cross-sectional designed e-survey that assessed youth wheelchair basketball players using the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (PSDQ-S) and Sport Enjoyment Scale (SES). All data analysis was descriptive. (2) The systematic review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P).

Results: (1) The participants’ (n=19) PSDQ-S score was (M = 1.79, SD = 0.38) and their SE score was (M = 1.05, SD = 0.23). (2) 15 studies met the inclusion criteria, including 2,740 children through adult participants aged 8 to 31 years old. 14 disabilities were assessed using the PSDQ. All 15 studies did not report any negative comments or critiques related to the PSDQ as an assessment tool. 5 studies reported the use of a theoretical framework. The researchers interpreted high scores from the PSDQ data as good or positive scores.

Conclusion: (1) The benefits of wheelchair basketball for youth with disabilities are positive scores on the PSDQ-S and SE scales. (2) This review found that the PSDQ is a useful tool to use to study the physical self-concept of athletes and youths with disabilities.