Motivational and Contextual Factors Across Sport Entry, Current Participation, Maintenance, and Withdrawal Among People with Physical Disabilities: A Systematic Review

Background: Sport participation can benefit people with physical disabilities, but whether they start, continue, or withdraw depends on motivational and contextual conditions. This systematic review aimed to synthesize evidence on sport entry, current participation, maintenance-related processes, and withdrawal or nonparticipation. Methods: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines, we searched Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed/MEDLINE up to 5 September 2026. Two reviewers independently screened, verified, extracted, and appraised studies using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT); the review was not prospectively registered. Results: Across the 106 included studies, accessibility, social support, and cost were frequently examined, whereas motivational and contextual factors were rarely examined together. Sixty-one studies (57.5%) described currently active participants cross-sectionally. Thirteen (12.3%) addressed maintenance-related processes, but only five (4.7%) provided behavioral evidence of persistence. Entry was addressed in 29 studies (27.4%) and withdrawal or nonparticipation in 11 (10.4%); these categories overlapped. Sixty-one studies (57.5%) reported no explicit theoretical framework. Conclusions: The evidence describes current participants considerably better than it explains how participation is initiated, sustained, or discontinued. Practice should address motivation together with access, social support, cost, equipment, coaching, and organizational conditions.