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ISSN 1886-8576

IBEROAMERICAN JOURNAL OF EXERCISE AND SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY

Vol. 8, no. 1 pp. 127-152

BELIEFS ABOUT SOCIAL INCLUSION AND SPORTS

ADAPTED FOR ATHLETES, TECHNICIANS AND MANAGERS
SPORTS FEDERATIONS OF SPORTS
FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Jordi Segura, Josep-Oriol Martínez-Ferrer, Myriam Guerra and Sílvia Barnet

Ramon Llull University, Spain

SUMMARY: Policies have been promoted to promote the integration of

adapted sport in general sport. The Blanquerna Inclusion project
wants to provide knowledge and strategies to facilitate the inclusion process
social in the sports system. Athletes, technicians and managers from single-sport
federations and multi-sport federations (sports for people with disabilities) will participate
in the project. As a first step,
From a sociocognitive perspective, the attitudinal beliefs of a
group of participants, in the three roles, representatives of the federations
multi-sports. The Fishbein beliefs questionnaire technique is used
and Ajzen and content analysis of responses to open questions, through triangulation
of expert judges. Differences in attitude are described between
men and women, about adapted sports and athletes with disabilities, and differences in
beliefs about social inclusion, between the group of
athletes and the group of technicians and managers.

KEYWORDS: social inclusion, adapted sport, beliefs, attitudes.

Contact address: Jordi Segura. Faculty of Psychology, Educational Sciences and Sports
Blanquerna, Ramon Llull University. C/. Císter, 34. 08022 Barcelona, Spain.
Email: [email protected]

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BELIEFS ABOUT THE SOCIAL INCLUSION AND THE ADAPTED

SPORTS, OF ATHLETES, COACHES AND MANAGERS OF SPORT
FEDERATIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

ABSTRACT: Policies are open in order to promote integration of adapted sport into
general sport. The Blanquerna Inclusion project would bring knowledge and strategies
to facilitate the process of social inclusion in the sports system. The project will involve
athletes, technicians and managers, representing single sport federations and
federations of sports for people with disabilities.
As a first step, from a sociocognitive perspective, beliefs and attitude are evaluated into
a group of participants, in all three roles, representing the federations of sports for
people with disabilities. A technique based on Fishbein and Ajzen model and a content
analysis strategy, using triangulation of expert judges, will be used. We describe
differences in attitudes between men and women, over their conception of adapted
sports and athletes with disabilities, and differences in beliefs about social inclusion,
among the group of athletes and the group of coaches and managers.

KEY WORDS: Social Inclusion, Adapted Sport, Beliefs, Attitudes.

CRENÇAS ABOUT SOCIAL INCLUSION AND ADAPTED SPORTS OF

THE ATHLETES, TECHNICIANS AND MANAGERS OF THE FEDERAÇÕES
ADAPTED SPORT SNEAKERS

SUMMARY: There are now policies to promote the integration of adapted sports in
general sports. The Blanquerna Inclusão project provides knowledge and strategies to
facilitate the social inclusion process in the sports system. The project will involve
athletes, technicians and managers, sports federations and sports federations for people
with disabilities. As a first step, with a sociocognitive focus, the attitude of a group of
participants in all three functions, representatives of the multi-sports federations, will be
evaluated. A Fishbein and Ajzen questionnaire creation technique and content analysis
of answers to open questions, using triangulation of specialized judges. We understand
the differences in attitudes between men and women, about adapted sports and athletes
with disabilities, and the differences in beliefs about social inclusion, between a group
of athletes and a group of technicians and managers

KEY WORDS: even social, adapted sport, beliefs, attitudes.

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Beliefs about social inclusion and adapted sport of athletes, technicians and
managers of sports federations of sports for people with disabilities

The inclusion of people with disabilities is a priority objective of policies

of community development and to achieve this, adapted sport is a good instrument (Martínez-
Ferrer, 2004). We understand adapted sport as the one that uses
means other than the usual ones, to allow athletes with physical, intellectual or sensory
disabilities to practice their chosen sport without risk (Martínez-Ferrer, 2010). This definition
emanates from the global concept of Adapted Physical Activity
(AFA), which according to Sherrill (1996) is a multidisciplinary science and practice related
with the activity carried out throughout life by people whose functional, structural or appearance
characteristics require specialized knowledge. This science serves to evaluate and adapt
ecosystems and facilitate useful changes to achieve the same
access, integration/inclusion, well-being throughout life, experiences of success in
relationship with movement and personal empowerment/realization.

Integration policies in adapted sports

Adapted sport is experiencing an important moment because we want to enhance
inclusion of athletes and integrating sports modalities, whatever they may be
the physical, mental or sensory characteristics of the athletes. The EU has promoted policies
aimed at promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities in
through competitive sport. The Paralympic Committee assembly
International approved in 2004 the strategic direction of promoting the integration of
the different Paralympic sports in the international sports federations.
The UN declared 2005 as the International Year of Sports and Physical Education.
(UN, 2003) and the following year sport and physical activity were recognized
as human rights for people with disabilities in the “Convention
on the rights of persons with disabilities” of the UN (UN, 2006). In
2007, as a result of global awareness about disability, the International
Disability in Sport Working Group, which promotes and supports the rights of people with
disabilities to physical activity and sports and competitive practice in
regions of the world (International Disability in Sport Working Group, 2007).
In Spain, the Higher Sports Council (CSD) proposed the “Comprehensive Plan
for Physical Activity and Sports” (PIAFD), for the period 2010-2020 (Council
Superior of Sports 2009). Two of its objectives are to promote the sport among
people with disabilities and groups at risk of exclusion. In the 1st
National Conference on Adapted Sports (2009) a structural integration plan was presented,
promoted by the CSD and the Spanish Paralympic Committee (CPE), in
collaboration with Spanish sports federations. Scientific competitions
later have dealt with the topic extensively: the “European Congress of
Adapted Physical Activity-EUCAPA” (2010), with the table on “Integration and
Inclusion” and at the 2nd National Conference on Adapted Sports (Valencia).

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Integration and inclusion in adapted sports

In the sports field, the terms integration and inclusion are used interchangeably.
although with different meanings. Organizations use integration in the sense
participatory, approximation between people (with and without disabilities), changes
in the system (especially competition) or collaboration between organizations
(clubs, federations). From the point of view of the process it implies a change to
various levels: political, legal, social, psychological, organizational... Regarding the
inclusion, there are sociological and structural explanations based on the principles of
standardization and integration. The principle of normalization refers to “the use of culturally
normative means, to allow living conditions
of a person with a disability are at least as good as those of a non-average citizen and to
improve or support to the greatest extent possible his or her behavior, appearance,
experiences, status and reputation” (Wolfensberger, 1972). The principle of integration
was proposed in the Warnock Report (Warnock, 1990) for the labor and social spheres.
Later it was recognized by the WHO for the field of health in
the “International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps” (World
Health Organization, 1980). It implies joining a group, by right, to be part of it and have
equal duties of the subject in the group,
respecting its special characteristics. In turn, it is based on two other principles of
equality and the right to difference among all people; and considers the “special need” as
a situation of exceptionality to which the environment must respond through precise
adaptations.
To correctly handle both concepts, a psychosocial approach is necessary. Integrate
means that the minority becomes part of the majority group and that
The system undergoes changes that facilitate the adaptation of the parts.
Compromises majority and minority. The principle of inclusion implies a second
passed; The entry of the minority causes a transformation of the whole: the whole becomes
transforms into a new group, with the participation of everyone. If we start from a
sociocognitive approach to inclusive reality, we understand that inclusion becomes
due to changes in the ways of thinking and in the processes of communication and
consensus. The principle of inclusion contemplates interaction in a more complex way, in
which the individual-group dialectic is the axis of a continuous process of
transformation. It requires interdisciplinarity, an evident characteristic when
It deals with the field of adapted physical activity and sports. Experts like DePauw
and Doll-Tepper (2000) emphasize a philosophical approach of social justice: all
People must be valued and must be included in a whole/single. They also point out
that participants must have the opportunity to participate and contribute options
informed. The European Commission proposed that actions aimed at achieving more
social inclusion must ensure participation in decision-making that affects

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to people's lives and access to fundamental rights (European Commission,

2004).
From the psychosocial perspective, inclusion should not only be considered as the
antithesis of exclusion but as a dimension of positive social development (Segura,
Martínez-Ferrer and Guerra, 2011a). Promotion objectives must be reconciled
social well-being with others of a psychological nature, such as the search for happiness and
development of joint actions, at different levels. And knowledge must be generated
shared by opening spaces for participation.
Organizations play a fundamental role in the sports system
because they are agents of culture and knowledge. The Spanish legislation that regulates
the structure of federated sport organizes sport for people with disabilities in five federations
for five disabilities (blind, physically handicapped,
cerebral paralytics, mentally handicapped and deaf) (Sports Law 10/90)
(Higher Sports Council, 1990). Since 2008 the Paralympic Committee
Spanish (CPE) begins to promote agreements with the Spanish Olympic federations in
order to join forces so that adapted sport evolves towards its integration/inclusion. According
to Palau and García Alfaro (2011), the future of
Adapted sport in Spain must pursue the same objectives that are sought
from the associative and social movements of people with disabilities: normalization,
integration/inclusion, which must also be sought in federated sport. The reality of sport in
Spain is articulated through “Olympic” or single-sport sports federations and sports
federations for people with disabilities.
disability or multi-sports. Just as single-sport federations organize
Around the practice of a single sport, multi-sport federations are organized around a type of
disability, practicing a diversity of sports modalities from the same federation. Public policies
aim to promote the approximation of both structures inspired by integrative criteria.

A series of conditions are necessary for organizational integration. He

good organizational development of clubs and federations must be carried out through
effective policies and should consider combining the “top down”, based on management
responsibility, with the “bottom up”, based on the participation of the protagonists (Segura,
Martínez-Ferrer and Guerra, 2011a).
The knowledge dimension must evaluate, in a double sense, the following
objects. First, as socially transmitted knowledge. The system of
adapted sport constitutes in itself a world of knowledge expressed in
specific languages, symbols and knowledge that give it its own character and sustain
the identity of athletes (Geertz, 1996). The inclusive process will promote
transfer from organizations linked to adapted sports. Second,

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as transformative knowledge; inclusive actions in sport stimulate

construction of a new “relational knowledge”. It is essential to fit the
actions within the framework of organizations, giving them an inclusive meaning that makes
possible the creation of positive individual attitudes towards inclusion.
Individual actions are performed in the performance of organizational roles.
As Levine, Moreland and Hausmann (2005) advise, inclusive transitions in
Group management necessarily incorporates the transition of roles, as well as
the changes, more than in people, in group relationships. We understand that
In sports organizations, the key roles are those of manager/director, technician and
athletes, and who exercise the mediating function in the inclusion processes.

“Blanquerna Inclusion” Project

In order to help the development of policies that promote the inclusion of
adapted sport in the Spanish sports system, the “Blanquerna” Project was proposed
Inclusion” (Segura, 2010, 2011a, 2011b). The PB aims to develop a model of
intervention for organizational development that promotes inclusion processes in
sport, based on the action research (AI) methodology. This is directed to
promote social changes and allows acting on aspects such as links,
values, personal forces (social capital) and symbolic capital (Vidal Fernández,
2010), grouping the roles of technicians, managers and athletes of single-sport and multi-
sport sports federations.
The single-sport and multi-sport federations share the mission of organizing sports
competition and practice, and they are distinguished in that the athletes
of the multi-sport federations are people with disabilities. They both share
sports culture and knowledge, but the multi-sport group incorporates the trait
of disability and, in doing so, provokes a debate around its hallmarks
group, confronting the sporting characteristics and the characteristics of the disability. They
are diverse social groups that, with all the nuances, are perceived differently. We are faced
with an interesting cognitive conflict, intragroup and intergroup, which, transferred to the
level of inclusion, becomes a meeting of two groups.
socio-sports. Inevitably, the inclusive process must go through the restructuring of
intragroup and intergroup perceptions. We know that the implementation of
actions aimed at promoting the social inclusion of adapted sport must manage
and modify group beliefs and build new shared beliefs (Dovidio et
al., 2005). For inclusion to be effective, the members of the groups (multi-sport and single-
sport) must perceive themselves as members of the same category.
social, sporting and human, which share the same object: sports practice
(Segura, 2010). Also, both must recognize that athletes with and without

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disabilities share objectives, models, work systems and practice facilities; and who share the
same personal and social identity.
Rice and Mullen (2005) emphasize the representational aspects of groups
as an intervention strategy applicable to intervention aimed at a social minority, such as
athletes with disabilities. Social representation is
both the outgroup and the group itself, influenced in turn by their attitudes towards
the external object, in this case it is sport. Sports practice helps to refocus
the look at the differential characteristics of athletes (having or not having a disability) towards
a shared object (sport). Beliefs are constituents of
social representations. They are types of information that people perceive, coming from
direct observation, inferences and social relationships.
(Morales, 1994) and are generally structured in cognitive schemes, units
basic organized structures of memory information (Páez, Márques and Insúa, 1994).
As a first step of the “Blanquerna Inclusion” project, the
beliefs of members of multi-sport sports organizations regarding
social inclusion, as the foundation of the integration policies proposed from
the sports political system. Afterwards, a descriptive analysis was carried out using qualitative
methodology of the beliefs of the actors of the group of federations.
of sport for people with disabilities, about social inclusion, taking
as a reference the integration of the sports system promoted by the policies
sports. The objective of this study is to explore beliefs about inclusion
social in members of multi-sport organizations and know the attitudinal differences based on
gender and the role played in the organization (in the federation
sporty). The purpose of the study is to know the position of this group, while
minority group, as a prior step to the discussion group stage with the entire
of sports federations, following Morgan's methodology (1998).

METHOD

Participants
57 people participated (39 men and 18 women): 14 athletes (12 men
and 2 women), 28 technicians (17 men and 11 women) and 15 managers (10 men and 5
women), representing five sports federations for people with disabilities:
physical, cerebral palsy, sensory (visual and auditory) and psychological. In the technical group
There were two former athletes with disabilities, one of whom combines the role of technician
with that of active athlete, although for the analysis it has been counted as
technical.

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Instrument

A two-part questionnaire has been developed to explore the beliefs and opinions of the
participants. The first part of the questionnaire consists of the strategy of
Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) belief-attitude assessment, based on a model
socio-cognitive that, as Ubillos, Mayordomo and Pérez (2003) explain, conceives the
attitude as a structured set of beliefs, in addition to affective responses
and behaviors. As its authors explain, the model understands attitudes as evaluators of the
attribute based on the beliefs and characteristics evaluated in the
object. Fischbein and Ajzen's (1975) strategy consists of proposing to the subject that
Evaluate a corporate purpose by assigning it a maximum of eight characteristics. Kings
Rodríguez (2007), compiling conclusions from various studies, comments that for
To evaluate salient or outstanding beliefs, it is enough to collect between 5 and 9 beliefs
o items In this study, participants have been asked to evaluate three objects:
person with disabilities, adapted sport and social inclusion. In the first case,
has asked them to remember an image of a person with a disability and in the third
case that evoke an event related to social inclusion.
Next, they had to describe each object with an open list of up to eight adjectives. Once the
list was completed, they were asked to rate the extent to which each characteristic listed
described the object, giving it between 1 and 10 points. Finally,
They had to specify what value they gave to each characteristic, multiplying the value before
awarded (between 1 and 10) for a score between -3 and +3 points. The
The sum of the values of all the characteristics constitutes the value of the attitude of
each subject with respect to the object. The exercise has been repeated with each of the three
objects: disabled person, adapted sport and related event
with social inclusion.

In the second part of the questionnaire, the participant is first asked to describe an event
and then give his or her particular definition of social inclusion.
posed in terms of meaning (Can you briefly explain a fact or event that you have experienced
or have known that could be an example of social inclusion? and What does it mean?
For you, the term social inclusion?). The construction criteria of the questionnaire were
taken from Flick (2004), who recommends that qualitative evaluation strategies
are adapted to the research objectives and the theoretical framework. The first question
is based on the criterion that the subject's experience significantly influences their
memory and that the stimulus activates the evocation of that memory (Segura,
nineteen ninety five). The second question collects the explicit and reasoned opinion of the subject about
of inclusion.

The expert researchers of the “Blanquerna Inclusion” project themselves prepared a first
version that was given to respond first to a second group of

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experts made up of ten specialists in physical activity and sports from the University
Ramon Llull. Their suggestions were collected and a second version was prepared that
was administered to a pilot group of representatives of the study population (two
athletes, two technicians and two adapted sport managers). Taking into consideration
their responses and comments, the final version was prepared. The questionnaire
includes questions about age, gender, type of sport and type of connection to the sport.
adapted sports.

Procedure
The five Spanish federations of sports for people with disabilities were contacted to
present the “Blanquerna Inclusion” project. It was explained to them that the
The task was going to consist first of administering opinion questionnaires and then of
holding discussion groups. First, the institutional invitation was sent and once the
affirmative response was received, the federations were requested to collaborate in
the distribution of the questionnaires to the athletes, technicians and managers.
The questionnaires were accompanied by a summary of the project and the document
of informed consent. They were sent directly to the federations. The
Participants answered them individually and anonymously and sent them to the
contact person of the federation, who finally sent them to the researchers.

RESULTS
In the first part of the study, the attitudes of athletes, technicians
and managers towards three attitude objects: (no. 1) person with disabilities, (no. 2)
adapted sports and (no. 3) social inclusion. Using the Fischbein and Ajzen strategy
(1975) the attitudes of the participants have been analyzed. We have focused on
attitudes of the participants based on gender and the role they occupy in the sports
organization (that is, in their reference federation). Firstly, it is summarized
the descriptive data of the sample (tables 1a and 1b) and then the
corresponding analysis.

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Table 1a

Descriptive analysis of attitudes towards people with disabilities, adapted sports and
social inclusion, depending on the type of role.

Role type M DT min Max Typical error

Attitude: Athletes 22.08 5.72 8 30 1,587

Person with Technicians 19.35 8.44 2 30 1.65
Disability Managers 16.14 13.25 -18 30 3.54
Attitude: Athletes 15.54 8.69 -1 28 2.41
adapted Technicians 19.00 11.53 -14 fifty 2.26
sports Managers 14.36 9.35 0 30 2.50
Attitude: Athletes 22.85 5.72 13 31 1.58
inclusion Technicians 19.88 12.22 -twenty-one 3. 4 2.39
social Managers 18.71 10.92 0 30 2.92

Table 1b

Descriptive analysis of attitudes towards people with disabilities, adapted sports and
social inclusion, based on gender.

Role type M DT min Max Typical error

Attitude: person Men 18.11 10.11 -18 30 1.66

with disabilities Women 20.88 8.00 5 30 1.94
Attitude: adapted Men 17.81 11.32 -14 fifty 1.86
sport Women 13.88 8.47 -1 29 2.05
Attitude: inclusion Men 21.84 10.08 -twenty-one 3. 4 1.65
social Women 16.06 11.14 -12 31 2.70

After performing the normality test (Shapiro-Wilk), it is found that: as soon as

to attitudes based on the three roles. with a significance of p < .01. The results meet
normality in the case of objects No. 1 (person with disabilities)
and No. 3 (social inclusion). but for object number 2 (adapted sport) it does not comply
(see table 2). In this case, the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test has been applied.
and in the first two one-factor ANOVAs (see tables 3, 4 and 5).

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Table 2

Tests of normality: attitudes based on roles

Role type Kolmogorov-Smirnova Shapiro-Wilk

gl statistician Sig. Statistical gl Next.

Attitude Sportsman .161 13 .200* .925 13 .293

person Technical .129 26 .200* .911 26 .028
Manager .221 14 .061 .869 14 .041
Attitude Athlete sport .158 13 .200* .963 13 .798
ad. Technical .140 26 .200* .918 26 .040
Manager .213 14 .086 .900 14 .114
Attitude Sportsman .171 13 .200* .948 13 .573
inclusion s. Technical .214 26 .003 .753 26 ,000
Manager .190 14 .185 .852 14 .024

*. This is a lower limit of the true significance.

to. Correction of the significance of Lilliefors

Table 3

Anova test of one factor depending on the role: attitude towards the person with disabilities

Sum of squares gl mean square F Next.

Inter-groups 192,558 2 96,279 1,094 .342

Intra-groups 4665.371 53 88,026
Total 4857,929 55

Table 4

Anova test of one factor depending on the role: attitude towards adapted sport

Sum of squares gl mean square F Next.

Inter-groups 334,041 2 167,020 1,553 .221

Intra-groups 5593.159 52 107,561
Total 5927,200 54

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Table 5

Kruskal-Wallis test based on role: attitude towards social inclusion

Attitude PREG6

Chi squared .448

gl 2
Next asymptot. .799

to. Kruskal-Wallis test

bb Grouping variable: Role_type

The analysis of attitudes in relation to object No. 2 (adapted sport) shows

that these do not change depending on the role that the participant occupies in the organization,
The Kruskal-Wallis test of independent samples shows that there are no significant differences
(see table 3). Likewise, the analysis of attitudes in relation to
objects no. 1 (person with disabilities) and no. 3 (social inclusion), shows that they do not
depend on the type of role either (see table 4 and 5).
Regarding gender, after carrying out the Shapiro-Wilk normality test, it was decided to
analyze the attitudes of women and men in sports organizations.
adapted sport for objects No. 1 (person with disabilities) and No. 3 (social inclusion), through
non-parametric testing (see table 6). And with the t of student
attitude towards object No. 2 (adapted sport) (see table 7).

Table 6

Tests of normality: attitudes based on roles

Gender Kolmogorov-Smirnova gl Shapiro-Wilk gl

Statistical Sig. Statistical Next.

Attitude Man .198 37 .001 .868 37 ,000

person Women .167 17 .200* .912 17 .108

Attitude Man .159 37 .019 .927 37 .019

sport ad. Women .094 17 .200* .979 17 .943

Attitude Man .227 37 ,000 .749 37 ,000

inclusion s. Women .191 17 .098 .923 17 .165

*. This is a lower limit of the true significance.

to. Correction of the significance of Lilliefors

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Table 7

T test for independent samples: attitude towards adapted sport. depending on gender

Levene's test for T test for equality

equality of variances of stockings

F Next. t gl Sig. (bilateral)

They have been assumed
Attitude .151 .699 1,097 54 .277
equal variances.
sport ad. have not been assumed
1,190 41,203 .241
equal variances

The difference in attitudes towards adapted sport between women and men is not
is significant, given that the result is t = 1.097; p = .277. Applied the U test
Mann found that the difference between the attitudes of women and men towards
adapted sport (object no. 2) is also not significant; but it is towards social inclusion (U = 191.5; p = .022).
Men who act in organizations
adapted sport, whether as athletes, technicians or managers, maintain attitudes
more positive than women regarding the social inclusion process (see table 8).

Table 8

Mann-Whitney test: attitude towards people with disabilities and social inclusion, based on
of the genre

Person attitude Social inclusion attitude

Mann-Whitney U 284,000 191,500

Wilcoxon W 1025,000 344,500
Z -1,305 -2,296
Next asymptot. (bilateral) .192 .022

to. Grouping variable: Gender

For the qualitative analysis of the beliefs, a content analysis was carried out by the first analyst with
the support of the Atlas.ti instrument (2003) and categories of responses were classified. Next, to complete
the triangulation, other
Two judges have carried out a second analysis of the proposed categories and proceeded to a final
classification. The procedure followed has been based on the basic indications set forth by Flick (2004).
This study deals, first, with
make an approach to the understanding that each of the various actors makes of the social object,
delimiting the evaluation situation based on their roles and the

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federative context that acts as a mediator in the participation process. Each

one of the participants provides a partial vision of the existing cognition about
the presented objects that we have selected as indicators of a process
global, which is the knowledge that sports organizations practiced have
by people with disabilities, about inclusion in sport. The various
visions make up an overall construction, which we present in the format of
conceptual map.
Following the recommendations of Flick (2004), the first analyst has followed the
strategy of categorizing responses and coding them in an “open” way. The structuring
conditions of the interview facilitate this process. In a second step,
triangulation has been carried out with two expert judges, as advised by the
qualitative methodology, before proceeding to the definitive categorization expressed in
the results.
The results of the qualitative analysis are a summary of the events
remembered by the subjects, related to social inclusion. The content analysis has been
carried out based on the categories developed by the judges: narrated action, subject,
social object, scene of the action and narration of experiences that are
considered to contain a manifest emotional charge. Two tables are presented; the board
9, with the results of the answers given by the athletes and table 10, with the
results of responses given by technicians and managers. The amount of memories
does not match the number of members of each group because for some
categories the participant has contributed two or more beliefs.
The results referring to attitude beliefs regarding social inclusion are
presented in the form of concept maps, first based on general categories
(figure 1) and then to differentiated categories according to the groups of men / women
(figures 2 and 3). To facilitate the understanding of the concept maps, the number of
statements that the analysts have counted is indicated within each category.

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Table 9
Content analysis of memories related to social inclusion. Group of athletes with
disabilities (n=14).

Category Content analysis result No.

They narrate the memory, identifying themselves as subjects of the 6

Subject
action, they manifest “we” as the subject of the action. 1

sports competition
Reference to others (not disabled): with two positive judgments and one 7
negative judgment 3
Action 2
References to the subject himself in the role of helping others
Opportunity to travel 1
Recognition of the athlete's career 1
Reference to feeling of marginalization in childhood 1

Explicit manifestation of personal experience 8

Athletes with disabilities alongside athletes without disabilities 7
Adapted sports competitions 6
Objects Popular citizen sporting events 1
Social Children 1
Institutions:
Schoolchildren 1
Labor 1

Sports 7
Scenarios Non-sports facility (restaurants, concerts) 2
Popular citizen sporting events 1

Narrations Explicit positive experience Dual 4

experiential role experience (athlete and coach): helping others Negative 2
experience (discrimination, marginalization...) 2

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Table 10

Content analysis of memories related to social inclusion. Group of adapted sports

technicians and managers (n = 43).

Category Content analysis result No.

Subject They narrate the memory, identifying themselves as subjects of the action 9

View/describe generic actions (no transitive object) 10

Know (specific people carrying out specific actions) 8
Visits to... (centers. entities...) 1
Auxiliary tasks 1
Actions Work with... 1
Participate with... 1
Accompany... 1
Train... 1
Compete with... 1
school (educate) 1
Create (a sports school) 1

Athletes (specific people with disabilities) 13

Popular citizen sporting events 5
Adapted sports competitions 4
Athletes with disabilities alongside athletes without disabilities 3
Objects Children 3
Social Institutions:
Schoolchildren 1
Labor 1
Penitentiary reintegration 1
Women 1
People with disabilities acting as public 1

Popular citizen sporting events 4

Sport 3
Scenarios Sports facility 2
Sports or adapted sports schools 2
radio musical program 1

Narrations Positive experience with explicit reference to a personal biography 4

experiential Experience of positive interdependence with athletes 2

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Beliefs about social inclusion and adapted sport of athletes, technicians and managers of sports
federations of sports for people with disabilities

Focus on the
Claim (7) (of the
Membership (6)
collective) (to a group, club
Intragroup
R. Social (5) (13) or federation)

(disability) R. of
exclusion (11)
Equality (21) Integration (20)
Recognition (21) non-discrimination / I. Partial
social equality (5)

I.Global
(15) in
R. of the all facets
Normalization (7)
value of the difference (5)
(general)

Partial
normalization Normalization (35)
(7) (a vital aspect) Educational
normalization (3)

Appropriate Sports
resources (16) normalization (18) Acceptance (6)

Figure 1. Conceptual map of the general categories of beliefs about social inclusion

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Focus on the
Intragroup (4)

Claim (2) (of the Belonging (2) (to

collective) a collective
club or federation)
R. Social (2) (of
disability) R. of
exclusion Equality (4) non-
discrimination / Integration (9)
(0) I. Partial
social equality
Recognition (6) (2)

I. Global (7)
Normalization (4) (in all facets
R. of the value of (general) of life)
the difference (4) Partial
normalization Educational
(2) (a vital aspect) Normalization (12)
normalization (2)

Sports
normalization (4)
Resources
Resources Acceptance (3)
suitable (8)
suitable (8)

Figure 2. Conceptual map of the categories of beliefs about

social inclusion in the group of women

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Beliefs about social inclusion and adapted sport of athletes, technicians and managers of sports
federations of sports for people with disabilities

Claim (5) (of the

collective) Focus on the
Intragroup (9) Membership (4)
(to a group,
club or federation)
R. Social (3) R. of exclusion (11)
(of
disability) Equality (17) Integration (11)
non-discrimination
I. Partial
/ social equality
Recognition
(3)
(fifteen)

I. Global (8) (in

Normalization (4) all facets of life)
R. of the value of (general)
the difference (1)

Partial
Educational
normalization Standardization
(5) (a vital aspect) normalization (1)
(23)

Appropriate Sports Acceptance (3)

resources (8) normalization (14)

Figure 3. Conceptual map of the categories of beliefs about social inclusion in

the group of men

DISCUSSION The

analysis of attitudes towards the three selected objects, based on the three roles identified in the federations
(athletes, technicians and managers) and gender, shows that men significantly maintain more positive
attitudes than women towards the object. process of social inclusion, but that the role occupied in the
organization does not seem to be relevant in terms of the construction of attitudes.

These results reveal the need to deepen the gender perspective, not so much in relation to people with
disabilities or adapted sport as an activity, but in relation to social inclusion as a social phenomenon. One of
the future lines of research must therefore be oriented towards this topic. A possible interpretation could
come from Fishbein and Ajzen's own reference belief model.

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(1975), as has been said, oversizes the cognitive component of attitude

(beliefs) to the detriment of the affective or emotional component. The most emotional
aspects of the inclusive experience should therefore be investigated.
Focusing on the results of the qualitative analysis of beliefs, the main resulting conceptual
categories refer first to three themes.
nuclear characteristics of the sociocognitive dimension: the intragroup, the comparison
with the outgroup and normalization. This evidence, although it can only be justified
from the qualitative basis of the study, would support the inter-group perspective when it comes to
choose useful models to address the perception of the protagonists of the world of
sport adapted to the inclusion process to which they are directed. The models refer to the
construction of the Self and its characteristics (self-esteem and self-concept) and to the
influence of group membership processes, explained by Páez and
Zubieta, among others, can be useful to explain the role of group identity in
the change in attitudes regarding inclusion in the world of sport (Páez, Zubieta and
Butler, 2003). Furthermore, it would be interesting to relate this perspective of identity with the
gender perspective, as that same line proposes (Páez and Fernández, 2003).
Participants express opinions related to their membership in the group
along with demonstrations demanding rights and a minority position.
In an important central dimension because it includes categories of beliefs related to the
“other group”, that of athletes belonging to the set of single-sport federations; We assign
these beliefs to the generic psychosocial process of
social comparison. They are those of equality (not feeling discriminated against) recognition
(disability, exclusion and the value of difference) and integration (partial or global). The
categories configure an attitude regarding the outgroup and its inclusion in it; The attitude
could be described from the group's own opinions:
a) They need their disability to be recognized as an element of distinction and
as an element that can be a cause of exclusion and, consequently, that
difference be considered as value. We understand that these features
They are also self-attributed.

b) They consider that their own integration can occur partially (in which
membership and sports practice would fit) or in a global way, as a style
of life.

c) Inclusion in the perception of equity is fundamental.

The categories obtained reflect that the attitudes of the people who belong
to the adapted sport system endorse the explanatory principles of perception
intergroup and recategorization proposed by Dovidio et al. (2005) as bases
to facilitate inclusion, which are based on the perception of differences between the

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own group and the outgroup. The categories include positive attitudinal beliefs, which would
compose a message towards the outgroup of the type: “I wish for
inclusion if you consider me equal to you, if you recognize and value my difference and if I can
integrate based on my interest or ability.” However, there are no references
explicit to the intragroup contribution.
Regarding the dimension of normalization, although a statistical significance of the
number of responses cannot be given, it is the one that brings together the largest number of
beliefs. In this sense, the responses of the participants, as they have been analyzed
by the judges, refer to a normalization: general (not specified), partial (in
reference to some specific vital aspect), sports and educational. We highlight the interest of
this “normalizing” category because it refers to group norms in
regarding agreed beliefs and, also, regarding sports normalization,
to aspects linked to the system and regulations of sports competition. Is
It is understandable that, in the case of sports, the members of the group of
sports federations for people with disabilities show interest in these
aspects. The way competitions and training are organized, jointly between athletes with and
without disabilities, must be fundamental to guarantee good inclusion.

Based on the difference in relation to the gender variable found in the beliefs questionnaire,
some qualitative differences are pointed out between the groups of men and women.
women. Men, compared to women, show more interest in
dimension of equality with respect to that of group centering. In them, both dimensions
include the same number of beliefs, which is lower than that of the normalization dimension,
which is higher. On the other hand, they show a high number both in
equality as in normalization (we insist that this is not a verification
statistically significant). Thus, in men there is a greater tendency to believe
that in relation to the process of social inclusion in sport, preference should be given to
aspects of equality with the athletes of the other group and in general with the system
uni-sports This trend is logically linked to the normalization processes,
especially in the sporting aspect. This normalization, we repeat, is referred to
the principles that govern the competition: the tasks, the regulations and the systems
of competition.
It is reasonable that memories related to social inclusion are linked in
largely with the performance of the participants in the sports field, given the context of the
research. It is interesting to distinguish the different categories of opinions
between the participants who occupy the role of athlete from those who occupy the roles
technician or manager, taking into account that the first are people with disabilities and only
two of the second group simultaneously occupy the two roles of
athlete and technician. In both cases, two types of categories are clearly distinguished.

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that account for many or few opinions and coincide in highlighting actions or scenarios related
to sports competition as facilitating elements of inclusion. The variables linked to the same
sporting task are also manifested in the
Content analysis in conceptual belief maps.
Among athletes, what stands out, as is logical, is their own experience and the
references to the interdependence between people with and without disabilities, regarding the
object of the remembered actions. This memory is not expressed by the technicians and
managers; It would be explained because they do not participate directly in competitive
actions. In addition, these expand inclusion to diverse non-sports scenarios, which
Athletes don't do it. Likewise, when remembering inclusive situations,
They manifest generic actions and scenarios beyond sports practice. For other
On the other hand, technicians and managers, in addition to recognizing themselves in a
similar way to athletes as subjects of the action, evoke from their memory memory specific
people, athletes with disabilities whom they describe in relative depth, with
biographical trend. This data agrees with the results that appeared in a study on the significant
memories of the referees and judges who participated in the
JJ.PP. of Barcelona'92 (Segura, 1995). Finally, narratives have been identified with
distinctive emotional content. In athletes, who are the first subjects
of inclusive actions, negative expressions or judgments appear regarding the
other people, and in the technicians, in addition to the personal allusions mentioned,
There are also references to the interpersonal relationships maintained. From this data,
In the absence of definitive verifications that should be made through larger empirical studies,
various possibilities can be identified regarding the
role that athletes, technicians and managers can play in actions that
facilitate social inclusion.

In the future, in addition to what has been said regarding the beliefs of athletes
with disabilities and their coaches, the beliefs of other athletes and coaches from single-sport
federations will have to be studied to compare them, focusing on the
that have experiential value.
It will also be interesting to delve into the aspects that relate gender
with inclusive attitudes, in both groups of federations. Once expanded the
study through discussion groups and with the entry of the group of single-sports federations,
these results will be able to be compared with those of the actors of the
rest of the sports system and see whether or not there are diverse beliefs and attitudes among
both groups. Likewise, study if in the group of single-sport federations there are
significant results in relation to other variables, in terms of number and value
of beliefs.

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Manuscript received: 07/19/2012

Manuscript accepted: 11/20/2012

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