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Access Type
WSU Access
Date of Award
January 2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Department
Exercise and Sport Science
First Advisor
Leah R. Ketcheson
Abstract
Background: More than 6 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) participate in Special Olympics (SO) programming around the world. One of the popular initiatives within SO is Unified Sports. The Unified Sports initiative aims to promote social inclusion by having people with IDD (athletes) and without IDD (partners) of similar ages and abilities train and compete together on the same team. However, little is known about the health and physical activity (PA) of these athletes and partners. Most research in Unified Sports has focused on social and emotional learning despite studies in segregated sports showing that participation in PA and sports is critical to the overall well-being of an individual. In 2022, the Special Olympics World Unified Cup took place in Detroit, Michigan where over 300 athletes from 12 different countries came to compete in the world's most popular sport: soccer. Moreover, through participation in this global event, athletes would receive free comprehensive health screenings through the Special Olympics Healthy Athlete Screening initiative. Purpose: The first objective of this study is to examine the health and PA of athletes and partners participating in the 2022 Unified Cup through gender comparisons and socio-economic comparisons. The second objective of this study is to examine the relationship between outcomes of the comprehensive health screenings and PA. Methods: Physical Activity data was collected using Actigraph wGT3X+BT accelerometers during group stage gameplay at the 2022 Special Olympics Unified Cup. Measures of Health-Related Physical Fitness were collected during the Healthy Athletes Screenings (HAS) held between group play and elimination rounds at the 2022 Special Olympics Unified Cup including measures of flexibility, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and body composition. Results: A total of 302 soccer players participated in HAS at the 2022 Unified Cup. The number of participants per outcome variable ranged from 57 to 20. Significant differences exist in components of HRPF. Significant differences between athletes and partners existed in 4 out 5 components of HRPF (p<.05; p<.001) and significant gender differences in 3 out of 5 components of HRPF (p<.05; p<.001). There are no significant predictors of PA when athletes and partners are examined together. However, flexibility status and body composition are shown to predict PA output during gameplay in athletes (p<.05, p<.001). Conclusion: Findings support that there are health differences in athletes and partners who participate in unified sports at an elite level. These health differences should be considered by coaches, researchers, and programmers when creating inclusive health and PA programs in that athletes should receive adapted and modified training plans targeting components of HRPF.
Recommended Citation
Loetzner, Franziska, "Health Related Physical Fitness In Special Olympic Athletes And Unified Partners: An Examination Into Health Profiles And Physical Activity During Elite Level Soccer Competition" (2024). Wayne State University Dissertations. 3997.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/3997
