title: Physical activity and quality of life experienced by highly active individuals with physical disabilities.
abstract: The present study examined links between physical activity and quality of life experienced by individuals with physical disabilities recruited from a wheelchair user's basketball tournament. The participants included 12 male and 14 female adults between the ages of 18-54 (M=31.12, SD=10.75) who all reported one or more condition(s) that impacted their daily living. They were administered the Physical Activity Scale for Individuals with Physical Disabilities (Washburn, Weimo, McAuley, Frogley, & Figoni, 2002) and in-depth interviews focused on their physical activity experiences and evaluations about their quality of life. Grounded theory analyses (Charmaz, 2000, 2002) revealed that individuals who use wheelchairs perceived a number of psychological, social, and health benefits associated with physical activity involvement. The participants' evaluations and descriptions of their physical activity experiences appeared to support self-efficacy beliefs, feelings of empowerment, and motivation for continued involvement. First-person descriptions are presented to demonstrate how and why physical activity behaviors were perceived to enhance the quality of the participants' lives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL, USA. Pgiacobbi@hhp.ufl.edu
authors.forename: Peter R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Giacobbi
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stancil
authors.forename: Brent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hardin
authors.forename: Lance
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bryant