Exploring attitudinal change towards disability through the impact of integrated and non-integrated parasport events

Abstract

The concept of attitude is one of the most distinctive and indispensable concepts in social psychology (Allport, 1935). Individual attitudes represent an interaction between thoughts, feelings and behaviours as cognitive, behavioural, and affective components. Attitudes can be defined as learned global evaluations of a person, object, or issue that influence thoughts and actions which are applicable to dispositions of single individuals or broad patterns of a culture or society (Allport, 1935). The understanding of attitude formation and change are important to assess as it has implications for decision making, and behaviour change (Ajzen, 1991; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1970). Considering that attitudes are developed through social and educational experiences (Paradis et al., 2017), the purpose of the present study was to assess the impact of integrated and non-integrated parasport events on attitudes towards persons with disabilities. Spectators were surveyed onsite at both the Commonwealth Games (n = 541) and the ParaPan American Games (n = 808) using a modified version of the Scale of Attitudes towards Disabled People (Anotnek, 1982). Results revealed that both events had a perceived impact on improving attitudes towards disability and awareness of disability, with the integrated event, Commonwealth Games impacting attitudes to a greater degree than the non-integrated event at the ParaPan Am Games. Results are discussed pertaining to the implications for parasport and sporting events as an agent of attitudinal change.

Acknowledgments: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada