Goal perspectives and sport participation motivation of Special Olympians and typically developing athletes.
Special Olympians with ID chase mastery and coach praise harder than typical peers—shape programs around those motives.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Hutzler et al. (2013) asked Special Olympians and typical athletes why they keep showing up.
They compared goal views and sport drive in adults with Down syndrome, other intellectual disability, and typical development.
What they found
Athletes with ID cared more about mastering the skill and pleasing coaches than typical peers.
Older typical athletes lost steam, but older Special Olympians stayed eager.
How this fits with other research
Mumbardó-Helles et al. (2017) meta-analysis says gender, race, and exact label shift self-determination scores in ID. The sport data here fall inside that bigger picture.
Daly et al. (2024) show group contingencies push work focus above 80% in adults with ID. Yeshayahu’s findings hint that tapping task-oriented pride could make those contingencies stick even better.
Taylor et al. (2014) find vocational engagement drives later behavioral gains in adults with ASD. Together the papers argue: structured community activities—jobs or sports—grow skills when they match personal motives.
Why it matters
Use the athlete’s own goals to shape reinforcement. Praise effort and clear personal targets, not just winning. Fold in peer cheers or small prizes—these external boosts matter more to many ID clients than to typical peers. Check age trends: if motivation dips in typical adults, add extra supports; Special Olympians may keep going strong.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Based on social-learning and self-determination motivational theories, the purpose of this study was to determine the sources of motivation in youth and young adults with intellectual disability (ID) who participate in Special Olympics (SO) competitions and those of typically developed (TD) age- and activity-matched athletes. A convenience sample of 63 SO (25 females and 38 males) and 59 TD (16 females and 43 males) athletes was retrieved through communication with local club coaches. Three sub-groups of SO athletes were identified based on disability, including non specified intellectual disability (NSID=39), Down syndrome (DS=17), and Autism (Aut=7). Mean SO and TD athlete ages were 20.35 (SD=7) and 18.8 (SD=8), respectively. For analysis purposes four age groups were created (<15, 15-17, 18-20, >20 years). Participants completed the 13-item, two-factor Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) and a 16-item four-factor abridged version of the Sport Motivation Scale (SMS). SO and TD athletes were active in swimming (54 and 48, respectively) and basketball (9 and 11, respectively). Groups with and without ID were compared by means of t-tests in the dichotomized variables gender and activity, as well as by 1-way ANOVA with Tukey HSD post hoc comparisons across disability and age groups. Gender distribution was the same in both groups. Participants with DS and NSID scored significantly higher than TD athletes in most motivational scales. Participants with ID increased their external motivation with increasing age, while a reversed pattern was observed in TD. In summary, significant differences between motivational patterns of SO athletes with ID and TD athletes can be observed. These differences should be considered when developing training and competition programs.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.03.019