Purpose: The aims of this study were to assess the validity and reliability of a structured questionnaire of inclusion for Paralympic dance (PD), the association between the type of athlete about the perception of inclusion in own dance studio, and to describe knowledge and perceptions of inclusion in PD participants.
Methods: Thirty-eight Italian PD participants answered a survey and a structured questionnaire of inclusion in PD (QIPD).
Results: The internal consistence of the QIPD was acceptable (α = 0.79) albeit one item greater than 1 was excluded, and the test-re-test reliability was moderate to excellent (ICC 0.66-1.00). Most participants with disabilities reported to approach dancesport due to friendship and involvement of dance coach, whereas most participants without disabilities thanks to dance coach (86%). Most participants with disabilities reported to practice PD for pleasure and passion, whereas participants without disabilities because they feel emotion by dancing with a partner with disabilities (83%). A relationship was observed between the type of athlete in the coach's attempt to remove all barriers to participation (X 2 = 4.994).
Conclusion: The QIPD is valid and reliable to assess knowledge and perceptions of inclusion in PD. PD participants with and without disability seem to perceive sport inclusion similarly, except for the removal of barriers to participate in PD courses.
Keywords: Barriers; Disability; Inclusion; Perception; Unified sport.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag Italia S.r.l., part of Springer Nature 2022.