The effect of multi-component physical activity on physical fitness and social skills in adults with intellectual inadequacy: A mixed method case study

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the effect of multi-component physical activity on the physical fitness and social skills of adults with intellectual inadequacy. Conducted according to the intervention design in the quantitative dimension of this research, one of the mixed research methods, a paired control group design, one of the quasi-experimental designs, was used, and in the qualitative dimension, the case study design was used. In order to determine the experimental and control groups multi-stage sampling method, one of the mixed method sampling strategies was used. In the quantitative phase of the research, a total of 24 adults with intellectual inadequacy, 12 in the experimental group and 12 in the control group, took part and in the qualitative phase, the experimental group and 10 teachers took part. The multi-component physical activity program was applied to the experimental group for 24 weeks/2 days (40 minutes) per week, and those in the control group continued their normal education. The quantitative data of the study were collected from the experimental and control groups through the physical fitness and social skills tests forms, and the qualitative data were collected from the experimental group and their teachers through the semi-structured interview form and the physical activation evaluation form. The Mann Whitney U and Wilcoxon Marked Sequences test was applied in the analysis of the quantitative data of the research, and the content analysis method was applied in the analysis of the qualitative data. From the findings obtained from the research, it was determined that the multi-component physical activity intervention positively affected the development of the muscle strength and endurance, aerobic capacities, basic movement, communication and interaction, sensory processing, recognition, understanding and expression of emotions, and emotion and behavior management skills of adults with intellectual inadequacy. However, it has been concluded that it does not have a significantly positive effect on skills that require them to make sudden decisions and move, such as body composition, flexibility, speed/response time, and social problem-solving skills. It was determined that the qualitative findings obtained from the research support the findings obtained by quantitative methods. As a result, it can be said that the inclusion of different complementary interventions with multi-component physical activity will contribute more to the holistic development of physical fitness and social skills of individuals with intellectual inadequacy.