Stress Impact of COVID-19 Sports Restrictions on Disabled Athletes

Abstract

The stress impact of COVID-19 restrictions has put the adapted sports community at an unprecedented level of emergency. The self-report Event Scale—Revised (IES-R) questionnaire was administered to assess the level of psychological distress and emotive reactions such as intrusion (INT), avoidance (AV) and hyperarousal (HYP) following training and competitions suspension within a sample of Italian disabled athletes. A total of 146 self-selected volunteers were included in this study: 73 disabled athletes (aged 42.11 ± 13.70) and 73 athletes (aged 40.23 ± 13.73) who served as the control group. Only 8.22% of the disabled participants vs. 30.14% of athletes were affected by subjective distress. MANOVA showed significant differences in IES-R subjective distress for age, where the emerging adults had a higher level of stress than adults (p = 0.031), and for the type of sport, where the individual sports group showed higher scores than the team sports group (p = 0.049). Regarding the IES-R subscales, significant differences were found in INT and AV for age, where the emerging adults showed higher scores than adults (p = 0.018 and p = 0.046, respectively). Significant differences were found in HYP for type of sport, where the individual sports group showed higher scores than the team sports group (p = 0.014). The results confirmed a lower distress level of disabled athletes to adverse events than that expressed by athletes. Both sports engagement and the experience of living with impairment, overcoming structural barriers, could act as a buffer effect against stress due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Psychological Wellbeing and Perceived Fatigue in Competitive Athletes after SARS-CoV-2 Infection 2 Years after Pandemic Start: Practical Indications

“…Regarding competitive athletes, the first period of the pandemic quarantine impacted the planning and scheduling of athletes’ routines [ 3 ]. Canceled or postponed events and limited access to facilities affected both performance and psychological aspects, increasing distress [ 4 , 5 ]. The problems linked to the pandemic restrictions involved both athletes worried about their sport career concerns and managers for financial aspects [ 6 ].…”

A tale of two stories: COVID-19 and disability. A critical scoping review of the literature on the effects of the pandemic among athletes with disabilities and para-athletes

“…Eight studies have dealt with the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and psychological variables among para-athletes/athletes with disabilities ( Clemente-Suárez et al, 2020 ; Dehghansai et al, 2021 ; Fiorilli et al, 2021 ; Hu et al, 2021 ; Kaneda et al, 2021 ; Kubosch et al, 2021 ; Martínez-Patiño et al, 2021 ; Busch et al, 2022 ). These populations have had to experience unique challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been “a tale of two stories”: the infectious outbreak and disability.…”

“…Finally, in line with Martínez-Patiño et al (2021) , Fiorilli et al (2021) conducted a questionnaire-based, case-control study in Italy and recruited a sample of 146 athletes (73 without and 73 with disabilities, aged 42.11 ± 13.70 years). The authors found a lower subjective distress level among athletes with disabilities compared to their able-bodied counterparts (8.22% versus 30.14%, respectively).…”

“…By means of sport, athletes with disabilities can build a “strong athletic persona (identity),” overcoming the social marginalization they can usually experience ( Hu et al, 2021 ). Differential effects of type of sports discipline (individual versus team para-sport) were detected, suggesting that interactions and communications among peers can relieve and alleviate mental suffering, anxiety, and loneliness, enabling to react to adversities and challenging situations ( Fiorilli et al, 2021 ). Moreover, athletes with disabilities can adopt particular coping strategies, such as avoidance, which is especially common among young para-athletes and athletes with disabilities, who are more likely to deny the implications and effects of COVID-19 and escape from negative emotions/feelings ( Fiorilli et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Differential effects of type of sports discipline (individual versus team para-sport) were detected, suggesting that interactions and communications among peers can relieve and alleviate mental suffering, anxiety, and loneliness, enabling to react to adversities and challenging situations ( Fiorilli et al, 2021 ). Moreover, athletes with disabilities can adopt particular coping strategies, such as avoidance, which is especially common among young para-athletes and athletes with disabilities, who are more likely to deny the implications and effects of COVID-19 and escape from negative emotions/feelings ( Fiorilli et al, 2021 ). In conclusion, regarding confinement and mental health, a few of the studies included in the present scoping review found athletes with disabilities were better able to cope than athletes without an impairment, potentially due to the positive coping skills athletes with a disability may have ( Martin, 2012 ; Dehghansai et al, 2021 ).…”