A qualitative exploration of the body-related appearance and functioning experiences of high-performance athletes with disabilities using the quality participation framework

Roxy H. O’Rourke, Delaney E. Thibodeau, Sasha Gollish, Alessia Capone, Catherine M. Sabiston, Andrea Bundon, Kelly P. Arbour-Nicitopoulos

High-performance athletes with disabilities are at an increased risk of experiencing mental health challenges. Research on body image among high-performance athletes without disabilities highlights the risk of negative body image, most notably in women and aesthetic sport athletes. It is currently not known whether these experiences are similarly reflected among high-performance athletes with disabilities. Guided by the quality participation framework, this study aimed to explore body appearance and functioning experiences of athletes with disabilities in relation to the quality of their sporting experiences. Virtual semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 10 high-performance athletes with disabilities (Mage=34.6 years; 7 men, 3 women; impairment type: 8 physical, 2 sensory, 2 intellectual; 7 also identified a diagnosed mental illness). Interview questions focused on the relationship between the mental health and illness experiences of the athletes within the context of the quality participation framework (i.e., autonomy, belongingness, challenge, engagement, mastery, meaning). Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using verbatim codebook thematic analysis. Preliminary themes include ‘abilities are linked to function, which is linked to skill’, ‘(fit)ting the (disabled) athlete stereotype’, and ‘abled disabled bodies’. The findings highlight that, while athletes with disabilities may have a heightened awareness of their disabled bodies’ physical appearance and functioning due to their sport involvement, influential others (i.e., coaches and teammates) contribute to the athlete’s body-related perceptions. This influence was reflected in the way they foster or neglect the quality participation experiences of the athlete. This work may inform future explorations of the body-related experiences and needs of athletes with disabilities. Future work is needed to better understand the role of influential others within/outside of sport (e.g., coaches, teammates, family members) in shaping quality sport environments to foster positive body-related experiences of athletes with disabilities.