Familiarity of Adapted Physical Activity Among Undergraduate Students: Personal Connection Matters

Abstract

The field of adapted physical activity (APA) and other areas often associated with APA focused on physical activity for people with disabilities, such as adapted physical education (APE) and disability sports (DS), is often marginalized and misunderstood. Little attention has been given to subsets of the general population’s familiarity of this field and related areas. The purpose of this study was to examine college students’ awareness of APA terminology and related organizations. Undergraduate college students (n = 995) completed a survey on their familiarity of APA terminology (APE, DS, and therapeutic recreation [TR]) and related organizations (Paralympics [PL], and Special Olympics [SO]). Students were most familiar with SO, DS, and PL. Familiarity with these terms and organizations, except for TR, were positively associated with being comfortable with people with disabilities (p