Stratégies d’auto handicap et performances sportives des athlètes handisports du Cameroun

Abstract

The present research aims to find the link between self-disability strategies and the sports performances of disabled athletes in Cameroon in order to better understand the behaviour of disabled athletes during training sessions and even in competition. To do this, three (03) data collection tools were used: observation, interviews and questionnaires. Using an observation grid designed on the basis of the model for drawing up a training session preparation sheet, on the one hand, and the sports performance evaluation criteria defined by Magill (1988), on the other, we were able to observe the 46 athletes of the various sports federations (FECASDEP, FECASDEV, FECASDI and FECASSO), who had given their informed consent to take part in our study. The same athletes were subjected to a questionnaire consisting of 39 items grouped around the indicators and indices of the different variables in our study. Similarly, 10 coaches each took part in a 40-minute semi-directive interview to provide us with more information about the participants. These interviews also enabled us to understand the attitudes of the coaches, to gather up-to-date information on the quality of coaching that disabled athletes receive, to understand the educational triangle and the atmosphere that reigns in the group before, during and after a sports competition. The data were collected from 56 partipants and processed using the SPSS software version 23. The Bravais Pearson correlation coefficient and the content analysis allowed us to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data to arrive at the result according to which, the correlation between behavioural/reported self-disability and sporting performance of disabled is negative and significant (r= -0.623 ; P=.001) et (r= -0,466 ; P= 0,05). r<0, which means that the regression line is descending. It emerged from the interpretations of the result that: the null hypothesis (Ho) was rejected and the alternative hypothesis (Ha) was accepted, which means that the behavioural and reported self-disability influences the sporting performance of disabled athletes. In other words, the higher the level of self-reported and behavioural disability in disabled athletes, the lower their sporting performance. Self-disability is therefore a predictor of the sporting performance of disabled athletes.