The effects of participation in a physical activity mentoring program on the attitudes of college students toward individuals with disabilities

Abstract

Background: Health-related mentoring programs for individuals with disabilities can produce benefits for all participants. Physical activity is critical for individuals with disabilities and has been shown to enhance many aspects of their health. Through a physical activity mentoring program, persons can benefit from a mentor to become physically active. Objective: To determine the effects of a physical activity mentoring program for individuals with disabilities on the attitudes of college students towards persons with disabilities. Methods: College student mentors (n = 36) were paired with individuals with disabilities to participate in physical activity 2 hours a week for 8 weeks. Mentors completed pre and post attitude surveys. A control group (n = 32) was used for comparison. Two scales were utilized to measure attitudes of college students. Antonak' s Scale Toward Disabled Persons and Gething's Modified Interaction with Disabled Persons Scale were used. Results: Participation in a physical activity mentoring program for individuals with disabilities did not show a significant difference in attitude change in the experimental group (mentors) compared to a control group. Conclusions: Data suggests future studies with larger samples may find a change in sub-groups. To determine the affects of participation in a physical activity mentoring program more research needs to be done.