Involvement in Special Olympics and its relations to self-concept and actual competency in participants with developmental disabilities.
More Special Olympics events and sports predict higher self-worth and daily living skills in adults with developmental disabilities.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked adults with developmental disabilities about their Special Olympics history. They counted how many events each person joined, how many sports they tried, and medals won. Then they gave two quick surveys: one on self-concept and one on daily living skills.
What they found
People who competed in more events and tried more sports scored higher on self-worth and adaptive behavior. Medals did not matter as much as simply showing up and trying different sports.
How this fits with other research
Boudreau et al. (2015) saw that young children with delays play fewer sports than peers. The two studies do not clash: little kids face barriers, but teens and adults who stay in Special Olympics reap big gains.
Mulder et al. (2020) followed youth for seven years and found the same pattern: the kids who kept coming back were the ones who played often and tried several sports. Together the papers show frequency and variety keep people involved and help them grow.
Barker et al. (2020) remind us that sport psychology tricks like self-talk or goal cards can boost performance, so coaches can fold those tools into Special Olympics training.
Why it matters
If you serve teens or adults with developmental disabilities, link them to Special Olympics and push for year-round play. Ask coaches to let each athlete try two or three sports instead of one. Track training hours and meet attendance, not medals, in your data sheets. More events and sports mean stronger self-concept and stronger daily skills.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The current study examined the relations among components of a physical activity program, Special Olympics (SO), and the self-concepts (i.e., perceived physical competence, social acceptance, and general self-worth) and adaptive behaviors of individuals with developmental disabilities. This research can assist in the development of theoretical models of how physical activity programs can be implemented to effect psychological change. Participants consisted of a randomly selected group of 97 individuals with developmental disabilities, between 9 and 43 years of age, and their parents. Participants' self-concepts and adaptive behaviors were measured both by direct interview and parental report. Examined program components consisted of the length of time affiliated to the organization, number of competitions attended, of hours spent in training, of sports, and of medals obtained. Multiple regression analyses suggest relations between specific components of SO and participants' self-concepts and adaptive behaviors. These relations highlight the importance of competition and sport for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2003 · doi:10.1016/s0891-4222(03)00043-x