Disabled athlete activism in South Korea: A mixed-method study

Abstract

Activism is defined as problem-solving action to bring about political or social change. While research on disabled athlete activism is emerging in Western cultures, no research has been conducted in a non-Western culture. The aim of this study is to fill this gap by examining social activism engagement amongst disabled elite athletes from South Korea. A sequential mixed-method design was used to meet this aim. In the first phase, we measured social activism orientation amongst 100 disabled elite athletes and, to offer a comparative group, 100 disabled non-athletes. Quantitative analysis suggested that elite athletes were more willing to engage in activism than non-athletes. In the second phase, we interviewed a subset of elite athletes with either highest (n = 9) or lowest (n = 9) scores for social activism orientation, to understand why some disabled athletes engage (motivators) and whereas others do not engage (barriers) to activism. In addition, to compare reasons to engage in activism, we also interviewed 12 disabled non-athletes. Thematic analysis revealed that high-activism athletes are motivated by socialisation process (e.g. athlete status, Paralympic games and encouragement), whereas low-activism athletes face barriers related to emotional cost (e.g. fear of disadvantage, perceived backlash and loneliness/depression). Thematic analysis also showed that compared to non-athletes, elite athletes are better positioned to speak out for social change. These findings enrich our understanding of cultural sport psychology and, furthermore, contribute to promoting activism by revealing how disabled athletes can be supported in their social missions.