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ERIC Number: EJ1475168
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1357-3322
EISSN: EISSN-1470-1243
Available Date: 0000-00-00
"I Shouldn't Just Hide in the Darkness": Youth and Parent Experiences in Wheelchair Sport
Sport, Education and Society, v30 n6 p783-796 2025
Disabled youth derive health, social belonging, enjoyment, and well-being from participating in sports, much like their nondisabled peers. This narrative inquiry study explored wheelchair sport experiences and the meaning ascribed to sport participation among youth with orthopedic impairments and their parents or guardians. Using a multi-case study, narrative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with three youth athletes and their parents. Thematic analysis shed light upon the participant narratives of social belonging, self-beliefs, and identity development experienced by the youth participants and their parents within the context of wheelchair sport. The first theme, 'wheelchair sport as a community,' portrayed the wheelchair sport event as a highly inclusive setting that enabled strong social acceptance and emotional support. The second theme, 'moving from frustration toward confidence in sporting contexts,' captured ambivalent emotive moments experienced during sport participation, particularly those related to perceived physical abilities. While the final theme, 'athletic identity in wheelchair sport,' depicted the youth participants' individual journeys toward athletic identity development. Based on these lived experiences and perceptions, participants' stories illustrate the social, physical, and psychosocial benefits and challenges of wheelchair sport participation. The study concluded that youth wheelchair sport can be a meaningful avenue for social interaction for disabled youth and their families, positive self-concept regarding one's body and abilities, and pro-athletic identity beliefs. Further, introductory events to wheelchair sport must be carefully planned and implemented to create an enjoyable and low-stakes opportunity for novice wheelchair sport athletes to explore their relationships with physical activity and sporting culture.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA