Background/Purpose
The study was designed to examine the differences of participant motives between able-bodied indoor soccer players and wheelchair soccer players. In addition, the relationships among participant motives of wheelchair soccer players were examined. Wheelchair soccer players were subdivided into 3 categories: Cerebral Palsy, Spinal Cord Injuries, and Other. Within the 'Other' group multiple disabilities were listed: Spina Bifida, Head Injuries, Polio, Muscular Dystrophy, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Scoliosis, and Osteogenesis Imperfecta.
Method
The Participation Motivation Questionnaire (Gill et al., 1983) was administered to able-bodied soccer players and wheelchair soccer players. The questionnaire was administered during a team meeting. A demographic form was administered to gain additional knowledge about the individuals and was sure for analyses. The participants included adult (18-55 years) wheelchair soccer players (n = 30) and able-bodied indoor soccer players (n = 30) Wheelchair soccer players were from Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, Pennsylvania, Texas and New York. Able-bodied indoor soccer players were from Connecticut and Massachusetts. Ages ranged from 18-55. Letters were administered to obtain permission to send/give PMQ (Gill et al., 1983) to the participants.
Analysis/Results
A total of 85 questionnaires were returned and 78 were deemed valuable. Independent groups t-tests were completed for each subscale of the Participation Motivation Questionnaire (Gill et al., 1983) for able-bodied and wheelchair soccer players. Pearson product moment correlation coefficients were performed for the subscale scores to examine if relationships existed between the subscale scores on the PMQ for wheelchair soccer players. The mean differences of the PMQ subscale scores for able-bodied and wheelchair soccer players were not significantly different. A significant (p < .05) positive linear relationship was found among the following subscales scores of the PMQ: Achievement, Team, Fitness, Energy Release, Others, Skill, Friends and Fun. Wheelchair athletes had similar participation motives as able-bodied athletes.
Conclusions
The current investigation was designed to determine if differences in participant motivation existed among wheelchair and able-bodied indoor soccer players. Wheelchair and able-bodied indoor soccer players were found to be motivated to play soccer for similar reasons. The wheelchair soccer players and able-bodied indoor soccer players were highly motivated by Fun, Team, and Fitness. The Wheelchair and able-bodied indoor soccer were players were less motivated by Other, Energy Release, and Achievement. A relationship between the subscales on the PMQ (Gill et al., 1983) was expected.