Abstract:

The aim of this study was to understand the experiences of athletes with a physical impairment regarding the constraints they face in their participation in sports and how these constraints affect their participation in sports from the Socio-Ecological Model (SEM) perspective with the photo voice method. In this qualitative study based on the interpretative paradigm, the participants were selected according to the criterion sampling method, which is one of the purposeful sampling methods. Four wheelchair track and field athletes and seven wheelchair basketball athletes with a physical impairment (n=11) aged 20-42 years old included in this study. In the framework of the semi-structured interview form, three different data collection techniques were used in the collection of research data: face-to-face individual interview, focus group interview, and photographic data. Content analysis method was used in the analysis of the data. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that there were personal, social, environmental, institutional and political factors that affect the sports experiences of athletes with a physical impairment. It was found that those personal constraints were mainly caused by the problems of athletes' adaptation to wheelchair sports and their impairment. Social constraints were caused by prosocial behavioral barriers and the social perspective created by stigmatization. The most emphasized environmental constraints in the study were based on the access constraints arising from the poor design of public spaces in accessing sports facilities and individuals' failure to comply with certain rules in social life. In the theme of institutional constraints, it was observed that there were no sustainability and systematic approaches in reaching sports-related resources. In the theme of political obstacles, it is stated that there were not enough policies regarding the approach of the society to the individuals with a disability and the media influence were not used sufficiently for the the individuals with a disability. As a result, there are interrelated and multifactorial constraints that affect the sports participation experience of athletes with a physical impairment and include all five dimensions of SEM. These constraints faced by athletes with a physical impairment affect their daily lives as well as their sports life negatively. If these constraints were eliminated or reduced, it was thought that disability sports will develop further.

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