What is associated with openness to integrated sport among school-aged youth with disabilities? A cross-sectional study from Hungary
- 1Institute of Sports Economics and Management, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen , ,
- 2Primary and Pre-School Education, Faculty of Education, Univerzita J Selyeho , ,
- 3Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Pedagogy, Eszterhazy Karoly Katolikus Egyetem , ,
Abstract
Introduction
Integrated sport-defined here as people with and without disabilities sharing a sport setting-may support social connection and opportunities for participation, but integration does not by itself establish inclusion, and stated openness is not actual participation. This cross-sectional study examined factors associated with whether school-aged youth with disabilities in Hungary said they would like to take part in an integrated sports club.Methods
A survey of 1,298 youth with disabilities aged 8-18 was conducted with the support of a national disability-sport federation. The single-item outcome retained its three nominal response options-"yes," "no," and "not interested"-without assuming that the latter two captured active refusal and passive disengagement. Gaussian latent profile analysis summarised seven activity-limitation indicators; a categorical latent class model tested sensitivity to their ordinal measurement; and multinomial logistic regression assessed associations with limitation severity, impairment type, awareness, access, attitude, and school type.Results
Activity limitation formed a low-to-high severity gradient. Average posterior classification probabilities were .953, .902, and .938, and the categorical sensitivity model reproduced the ordered structure (87.6% identical ordered assignment; adjusted Rand index = .689). The full multinomial model had modest explanatory power (McFadden's R ² = .088). Neither continuous severity (LR p = .087) nor the profile-membership block (LR p = .097) significantly improved the full contextual model. However, two individual profile coefficients remained statistically significant in the "not interested"-vs.-"no" contrast. Liking sport was the strongest correlate, although it was conceptually proximal to the outcome; its exclusion reduced McFadden's R ² to .068 but did not make severity significant. Awareness and perceived access were also associated with the response categories, and impairment type was associated particularly with choosing "not interested" rather than "no."Discussion
The findings identify correlates of a stated, unvalidated openness item, not causes of inclusion or participation. Their interpretation is limited by the cross-sectional convenience sample, single-item measures, modest model fit, and the absence of participant-level records of questionnaire mode or pictorial support.
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BibTeX
@article{muller2026what,
title = {{What is associated with openness to integrated sport among school-aged youth with disabilities? A cross-sectional study from Hungary}},
author = {Anetta Müller and Attila Lengyel and Katalin Mező and Éva Bácsné Bába and Nóra Laoues Czimbalmos and Peter Židek and Ferenc Mező},
journal = {Frontiers in sports and active living},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fspor.2026.1922255},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13725849},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - What is associated with openness to integrated sport among school-aged youth with disabilities? A cross-sectional study from Hungary
AU - Anetta Müller
AU - Attila Lengyel
AU - Katalin Mező
AU - Éva Bácsné Bába
AU - Nóra Laoues Czimbalmos
AU - Peter Židek
AU - Ferenc Mező
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
JO - Frontiers in sports and active living
DO - 10.3389/fspor.2026.1922255
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13725849
AB - Introduction Integrated sport-defined here as people with and without disabilities sharing a sport setting-may support social connection and opportunities for participation, but integration does not by itself establish inclusion, and stated openness is not actual participation. This cross-sectional study examined factors associated with whether school-aged youth with disabilities in Hungary said they would like to take part in an integrated sports club.Methods A survey of 1,298 youth with disabilities aged 8-18 was conducted with the support of a national disability-sport federation. The single-item outcome retained its three nominal response options-"yes," "no," and "not interested"-without assuming that the latter two captured active refusal and passive disengagement. Gaussian latent profile analysis summarised seven activity-limitation indicators; a categorical latent class model tested sensitivity to their ordinal measurement; and multinomial logistic regression assessed associations with limitation severity, impairment type, awareness, access, attitude, and school type.Results Activity limitation formed a low-to-high severity gradient. Average posterior classification probabilities were .953, .902, and .938, and the categorical sensitivity model reproduced the ordered structure (87.6% identical ordered assignment; adjusted Rand index = .689). The full multinomial model had modest explanatory power (McFadden's R ² = .088). Neither continuous severity (LR p = .087) nor the profile-membership block (LR p = .097) significantly improved the full contextual model. However, two individual profile coefficients remained statistically significant in the "not interested"-vs.-"no" contrast. Liking sport was the strongest correlate, although it was conceptually proximal to the outcome; its exclusion reduced McFadden's R ² to .068 but did not make severity significant. Awareness and perceived access were also associated with the response categories, and impairment type was associated particularly with choosing "not interested" rather than "no."Discussion The findings identify correlates of a stated, unvalidated openness item, not causes of inclusion or participation. Their interpretation is limited by the cross-sectional convenience sample, single-item measures, modest model fit, and the absence of participant-level records of questionnaire mode or pictorial support.
SN - 2624-9367
ER -