The relationship between physical activity levels and anxiety, depression, and stress of disabled athletes preparing for the paralympic games

The purpose of this study is to investigate the changes in physical activity, anxiety, depression, and stress levels change over time in athletes preparing for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, and also to see whether there is a relationship between physical activity and anxiety, depression, stress levels. The assessments were performed three times; 40, 20, and 1 week before the Paralympic Games. State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used to determine state and trait anxiety levels, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to assess depression, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) was used to measure stress levels, and International Physical Activity Questionnaire-7 (IPAQ-7) was used to determine physical activity level. The athletes in the study were on average 32.87±8.56 years old. Fifteen women (33.3%) and 30 men (66.7%) were included in the study. The athletes' average sports years was found as 10.21±5.54. While 62.2 % of the 45 athletes in the study competed in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, 37.8% did not. For 28 athletes competing in the Paralympic Games, inter-temporal changes in the scales were evaluated, and it was found that there was no significant difference in terms of the scores obtained at 40, 20, and 1 week before the Paralimpic Games for any scale (p>0.05). Also, there was determined that there was no significant relationship between the physical activity levels measured 40 and 20 weeks before the Paralympic Games and anxiety, depression, or stress (p>0.05). Participating in sports can help people with disabilities cope with many problems such as the COVID-19 pandemic process, a challenging and uncertain season caused by the Paralympic Games, daily life, disability, elite sport, etc. In addition, Paralympic athletes coping with the challenges of high-level sports performance and disability can show better adaptation to new challenges and situations. Keywords: 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, anxiety, depression, disabled sports, stress