Difficulties in Sport Participation, Motivation for Sport Participation, and Social Exclusion among Individuals with Disabilities

This study investigated how difficulties in sport participation and motivation for sport participation relate to social exclusion among individuals with disabilities. It also assessed how much the two sport-related variables contributed to the prediction of social exclusion. The correlational survey included 280 adults living in Hatay, Türkiye. All participants engaged in sport or exercise at least once a week and were recruited through convenience sampling. Data were collected using a demographic information form and three instruments: Difficulties Sports Participation Scale for Persons with Disabilities, Motivation Scale for Sports Participation of People with Disabilities, and Social Exclusion Scale for the Disabled. Difficulties had a small negative correlation with motivation and a moderate positive correlation with social exclusion. Motivation, however, was not significantly related to social exclusion at the zero-order level. Difficulties and motivation together accounted for 39.3% of the variance in social exclusion, and difficulties had the larger predictive effect. Once difficulties were held constant, motivation became a positive predictor, a result consistent with statistical suppression. A formal test supported the pattern: the indirect component running through difficulties was -.192, 95% CI [-.275, -.111], opposite in sign to the direct component. The two predictors remained significant after adjustment for demographic characteristics, with the final model accounting for 46.0% of the variance. The results suggest that efforts to promote social inclusion through sport must address structural difficulties as well as personal motivation.