Adapted Sport and Coping Skills in population with functional diversity

Abstract

Introduction. Adapted sport is a discipline that includes physical activities specifically designed to meet the unique needs and abilities of people with disabilities in order to improve their functionality and quality of life. For their part, coping skills are essential for people to cope with various demands and challenges encountered in daily life. In this sense, the main objective of this research is to determine the influence of adapted sport on the coping skills of the population with functional diversity. Methodology. A descriptive quantitative approach research was carried out, selecting a non-probabilistic sample made up of 35 adapted athletes with intellectual disabilities, belonging to the basketball and athletics leagues, belonging to a sports institute in the Cúcuta City, Santander´s North, to whom a validated checklist and a standardized evaluation instrument were applied. Results. The data show that adapted sport activities provide significant opportunities to develop active coping skills, strengthening the participants' ability to face challenges. However, some of the coping strategies developed by a significant percentage are of the avoidant type, which indicates impairments in the active participation in sports, which is the main occupation of this population. Conclusions. It is important to promote adapted sport as a measure to generate effective coping skills in the population with functional diversity so that they can achieve active participation in meaningful occupations.