Examining Awareness Levels Regarding the Effects of Sports on Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities Among Students at Different Levels of Education

The aim of this study is to examine the awareness levels of students at different educational stages regarding the effects of sports on individuals with intellectual disabilities. The study was conducted using a relational research design, which is one of the quantitative research methods. The participants consisted of 407 female and 343 male middle school, high school, and university students in the province of Istanbul during the 2024–2025 academic year. In addition to the participant information form, the Awareness Scale for the Effects of Sports on Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities was used in the study. The SPSS 25.0 (IBM SPSS Corp.; Armonk, NY, USA) program was used for descriptive statistical analysis of the data, and independent sample t-test and one-factor ANOVA analysis for unrelated samples were applied in the analysis process. As a result of the research, it was determined that the awareness levels of male participants (X̄ = 113.89), secondary school students (X̄ = 117.15), and high school students (X̄ = 111.42) were found to be at a medium level, while the awareness levels of university students in all departments towards the effects of sports on individuals with intellectual disabilities were high (p < .05). In addition, a statistically significant difference was found in awareness levels according to gender and education level variables (p < .05), but no significant difference was found according to the department variable (p > .05).

Cite this article as: Özcan, G. H., Demirli, A., Taştan, Z., & Oktay, G. (2026). Examining awareness levels regarding the effects of sports on individuals with intellectual disabilities among students at different levels of education. Research in Sports Science, 16, 0003, doi:10.5152/rss.2026.26003.