Motivation to engage in adaptive physical education as a condition for saving health, contributing to psychological well-being, resiliency and improving the quality of life of students with disabilities

Purpose of the study: to establish the features of motivation for adaptive physical education (APE) and the importance of these activities for the psychological well-being, vitality and quality of life of students with disabilities. Methods: The study involved students from the Russian State University of Social Technologies ( n = 108; 32.3 % male, 67.7 % female; average age 20.9 ± 1.9; 100 % diagnosed with disability), who were divided into two comparison groups based on their participation in physical education classes. The descriptive analysis revealed that 36 % of the participants are students of the Faculty of Digital Technologies, 34 % are students of the Faculty of Psychology, and 30 % are students of the Faculty of Economics. Students with disabilities (32 % of respondents had a 1st group of disabilities, 35 % had a 2nd group, and 33 % had a 3rd group) were divided into the following categories: 73 % of respondents with musculoskeletal disorders, 16 % with genetic, somatic, and other disorders, 9% with visual impairments, and 2 % with hearing impairments. The study of motivation for physical education classes and the importance of these classes was conducted using the following methods: “Psychological well-being” K. Riff in the adaptation of T.D. Shevelenkova, P.P. Fesenko; “Human resiliency” A.V. Makhnacha; “Assessment of the quality of life” SF-36; “Motives for sports” by A.V. Shaboltas; “Studies of motives for sports” by V.I. Tropikov; “Determination of personality orientation” by B. Bass; “Determination of the leading orientation” by V. Smekalo, M. Kucher; a questionnaire that allows you to establish the socio-psychological characteristics of students. Results: The study found that this type of activity helps change one’s opinion of oneself, increase self-esteem, obtain real aesthetic pleasure and contributes to the improvement of interpersonal interactions, has a positive effect on the assessment of the quality of life, psychological well-being and resiliency. Conclusion: APE classes perform a health-preserving function, have a positive effect on the quality of life, contribute to the improvement of psychological well-being and maintenance of the resiliency of students with disabilities.