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Differences in socialization between visually impaired student-athletes and non-athletes
Research in Developmental Disabilities 32 (2011) 58–62
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Research in Developmental Disabilities
Differences in socialization between visually impaired student-athletes and non-athletes Ahmadreza Movahedi a,*, Hossein Mojtahedi a, Fateh Farazyani b a b
Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Isfahan, Hezar Jarib Street, Isfahan, Iran Payame Noor University, Kermanshah, Javanrood, Iran
A R T I C L E I N F O
A B S T R A C T
Article history: Received 17 August 2010 Accepted 23 August 2010
The purpose of the present study was to determine whether there was a significant difference in measure of socialization between visually impaired student-athletes and non-athletes. We compared the social skills of Iranian visually impaired student-athletes (n = 51) and visually impaired student non-athletes (n = 56) with ages ranging from 13 to 19 years enrolled in academic year 2009–2010. Socialization was measured with the Social Maturity Scale (Weitzman, 1949). The results indicate that the two examined groups differ in regards to socialization and that the visually impaired student-athletes scored significantly higher than the visually impaired student non-athletes on the socialization test, proving the notion that participation in sports results in better improvements in socializations. If officials and parents encourage sports participation in visually impaired individuals, they will have a better opportunity of having more social skills in life. ß 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Socialization Visual impairment Students Athletes
Several Studies have investigated development of socialization in visually impaired children and have concluded that they do not display a considerable amount of social interactions (Rettig, 1994; Sacks, Kekelis, & Gaylord-Ross, 1992; Warren, 1984). Socialization has been defined as the process by which individuals learn the knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and behaviors. This enables them to take part as members of society in which they live. Socialization is a life long process by which a child becomes an adult. People (especially family members, peers, and friends), institutions, and activities are the most important factors that affect the process of socialization. Socialization is particularly important during the period of adolescence. The need to belong is one of the most forceful forces of adolescence (Gallahue & Ozmun, 2006). Watching others often makes people develop social skills incidentally, yet individuals with visual impairments are not able to observe social interactions directly and often have disadvantages becoming socially proficient (Sacks et al., 1992). Stein (1996) claims that children with visual impairments are not fully socialized. The process of socialization is deeply affected by skills of daily living, recreational activities, and competitive sport experiences. Physical activities and sports play a critical role in psychosocial development. Investigators have found that children with visual impairment had fewer friends (MacCuspie, 1992) and were rejected by their sighted classmates leading to social isolation (Jones & Chiba, 1985). Sometimes, peer based social interactions are severely deteriorated in visually impaired children. Thus, social play may create feelings of frustration, annoyance and dissatisfaction rather than feelings of self-efficacy, sovereignty, and independence, which illustrate the social skill of typical children (Celeste & Darja, 2010). Visually impaired children usually face much more separation and are deficient in socialization opportunities compared to their sighted peers (Kallanoitis & Johnston, 1994; Robinson, 2002).
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +989131252711; fax: +983116687572. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (A. Movahedi), [email protected] (H. Mojtahedi), [email protected] (F. Farazyani). 0891-4222/$ – see front matter ß 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2010.08.013
A. Movahedi et al. / Research in Developmental Disabilities 32 (2011) 58–62
59
Weiss (1987) claims that because individuals seek group affiliation, they try to participate in physical activity programs. Self esteem, self confidence, and self competence that are essential materials for social development are also achieved through engaging in sports and physical exercises (Gallahue & Ozmun, 2006). According to Shields and Bredemeier (1995), sport is a socializing agent that forms attitudes, enhances value formation and moral development. Participation in sport and exercise offers opportunities that might result in greater and wider social networks, social connections and social cohesion. Regular participation in exercise leads to the establishment of friendship networks (Coalter, Allison, & Taylor, 2000). Sport and athletic competitions obviously has the potential to supply a great variety of social and recreational networks, which enhances social interaction. Social interactions provided by sport participation are critical and key elements for community development, social inclusion and mental wellbeing (Forrest & Kearns, 1999; Thomas, 1995). Sport and exercise can assist in the peer integration of young people with physical disabilities. Physical activity can be considered as a normalizing agent for children with physical disabilities. It provides social identity, enhances social skills and establishes social networks with their peers (Taub & Greer, 2000). In a study, Zaharopoulos and Hodge (1991) studied the difference between athletes and non-athletes’ physical ability self-concept. Their findings indicated that athletes differed from non-athletes in physical ability self-concept. They concluded that participation in sports is more likely to influence specific areas of self-concept. Because investigators have not yet studied social development in visually impaired students on the basis of their participation in organized and formal sports, and to shed more light on the role played by sports in social development, in the present study our goal was to determine whether there is a difference between visually impaired student-athletes and nonathletes’ social development. The foremost hypothesis was that visually impaired students who participate in goalball (a formal sport for visually impaired people) would show better socialization, as compared to visually impaired students who do not engage in goalball or any organized sports. The finding that visually impaired student-athletes showed better socialization in comparison with that of visually impaired student non-athletes would support the hypothesis that participation in organized and formal sports would result in achieving more improved socialization. 1. Methods 1.1. Participants A total of 107 visually impaired male students (aged from 13 to 19 years) from School for Visually Impaired Students in Tehran volunteered to take part in our study. In the present study, a student with visual impairments is an individual who has vision loss to such a degree as to qualify as an additional need through a considerable limitation of visual ability resulting from any conditions that can not be corrected by conventional means, such as refractive correction, medication, or surgery (Arditi & Rosenthal, 1998). The athlete group consisted of 51 goalball teams’ members. Goalball is a game for people with visual impairments. Players who want to compete in a goalball match must be legally blind. Each team includes 3 members; one centre and two wings. They try to defend their goal line. The game comprises two 7 min halves.It requieres a rubber ball with some bells inside. The bells are used for auditory tracking. Each player must wear a blindfold irrespective of the degree of visual disorder. The field of play is 18 m long by 9 m wide. (For more details, see Lieberman & Cowart, 1996; Paciorek & Jones, 2001; Winnick, 2000). The non-athlete group consisted of 56 non-active individuals not involving themselves in any kind of sport activity and athletic event before. To qualify as an athlete, a student must be presently representing a school or club competition. They took part in the study after their scheduled class. All participants were in reasonably good health and physical condition except being visually impaired. The study procedure, aims and the process of interview were told to them. Besides, they all gave their informed consent. The Committee for Ethical Considerations in Human Experimentation of University of Isfahan assessed and approved the experimental protocol. 1.2. Materials We used Weitzman’s Social Maturity Scale (1949) to evaluate the participants’ level of social development. The original version of Weitzman’s Social Maturity Scale is a 31-item questionnaire designed to measure social maturity level in 13–19-year-old individuals. The scale has been one of the most widely used socialization inventories. The questions are based on a study of social growth in teen-agers. The scale will give a teen-ager a measure of where she/he stands on the social development ladder. For each item, individuals are asked to mark 1 of 3 or 4 statements that best express their behavior or feelings. In answering the questions, one should be very careful to describe her/his own behavior as accurately, precisely and truthfully as possible. The questions deal with the individual’s level of sensible independence of others, looking ahead (foresight), moderation, positive approach, assuming responsibility, and sense of humor. Total scores were used in the analyses of the difference in measure of socialization between visually impaired student-athletes and non-athletes. 1.3. Procedure First we introduced the study and explained the aims of the investigation. Then the consented participants were administered the Social Maturity Scale. In total, the inventory took 40–50 min to complete for each student. The survey items
[(Fig._1)TD$IG]
A. Movahedi et al. / Research in Developmental Disabilities 32 (2011) 58–62
60
Fig. 1. Mean social development scores of the visually impaired student-athletes and visually impaired student non-athletes.
(questions and the three or four statements of each question) were read aloud for the participants. Then they were asked to choose their own choices. For inventory completion, the students were interviewed individually. 1.4. Statistics All data were expressed as the mean SD. Also, we used an independent t test to determine whether the groups differed significantly from each other in socialization. A probability level of <.01 was accepted as statistical significance. 2. Results With respect to the Social Maturity Scale, comparison of the two groups showed that they differ in regards to socialization and that the athletes scored significantly higher than non-athletes (Fig. 1). Analyses revealed that visually impaired athletestudents had a significantly higher social development mean score (M = 14.58, SD = 2.84) than their non-athlete counterparts (M = 10.23, SD = 2.83), t (105) = 4.68, p < .001. Table 1 describes the social maturity class (Weitzman, 1949) of visually impaired athlete-students and non-athlete students. 3. Discussion The purpose of the present investigation was to find out whether there was a significant difference in measure of socialization between visually impaired student-athletes and non-athletes. The results of our study indicated that visually impaired student-athletes differed significantly from their non-athlete counterparts in socialization. Indeed, the athletes scored significantly higher than non-athletes on the socialization test. The results of our investigation are consistent with the claims of Gallahue and Ozmun (2006), Weiss (1987), Shields and Bredemeier (1995), Coalter et al. (2000), Taub and Greer (2000), Thomas (1995), and Forrest and Kearns (1999). They claimed that participation in physical activity and sports leads to significant improvements in social development. Goalball may create the potential to provide the visually impaired student-athletes with a lot of social interactions. Thomas (1995) and Forrest and Kearns (1999) found that social interactions offered by participation in sport are vital and important elements for community development and social inclusion. Table 1 Classification of social maturity in visually impaired student-athletes and visually impaired student non-athlete. Groups
Visually impaired student-athletes Visually impaired student non-athletes
No
Social maturity class Below average scores: 6 or less
Average scores: 7–18
Above average scores: 19–26
Superior scores: 27 or more
No
Percentage
No
Percentage
No
Percentage
No
Percentage
51
0
0
20
39.21
31
60.79
0
0
56
2
3.57
51
91.07
3
5.36
0
0
A. Movahedi et al. / Research in Developmental Disabilities 32 (2011) 58–62
61
An adolescent’s need to be identified as a member of a team or club often leads to an interest in sports. The need for affiliation accounts for the popularity of peer play and youth sport. Recognition of the need for affiliation alerts teachers, instructors, coaches and parents to the value of play, games and sport as socializing agents (Gallahue & Ozmun, 2006). Goalball creates an environment in which an individual with visual impairments may feel himself as a member of a group. It provides a situation for affiliation, peer play and social interaction. Goallball creates a wonderful opportunity for individuals who have visual impairments or are blind to take part in an enjoyable and team sport. One of the best benefits of goal ball is that it promotes teamwork and cooperation among teammates. According to Weitzman (1949), there are some traits that distinguish socially mature adolescents from immature ones. These traits include cooperation, reasonable independence, looking ahead (foresight), moderation, positive approach, assuming responsibility, and sense of humor. The above-mentioned traits have been included in items of the Weitzman’s Social Maturity Scale. Since the visually impaired student-athletes scored higher than visually impaired student nonathletes on the socialization test in our study, it can be concluded that participation in goalball as a competitive sport has resulted in enhancement in traits of social maturity traits in visually impaired student-athletes. Weitzman (1949) states that cooperation and reasonable independence are among the most important traits of social maturity. Goalbal is a game that includes both cooperation and sensible independence. Goalball may create situations and conditions for children with visual impairments in which they feel that they are able to do something without others. When they score a goal they feel that they are competent to take care of their team. Weitzman (1949) indicates that a socially mature person does not always depend on others for assistance. Goalball teaches the visually impaired child the fact that he/ she should sometimes be independent in making decisions. Martens (1988) claims that organized sports have the potential to make every child a more responsible and an autonomous individual. Children learn to be much more cooperative, yet, less dependent on others. Martens (1988) believes that sport participation makes children learn to perceive the fact that they are responsible for themselves and responsible for the world in which they live. Doing sport will also teach the child that there is a certain peak beyond which too much independence results in performance deterioration. Moderation may also be learned by doing competitive sports. Every competitive sport including goalball usually results in either lose or win. Children will soon perceive the fact that there are ups and downs in consecutive competitions. They will soon understand the fact that losing a game may not be interpreted as an unpleasant event. Shields and Bredemeier (1995) argue that participation in sport make participants overcome difficult obstacles, cope with problems, insist on the face of opposition, and learn to live with both success and defeat. Foresight is a key element in Weitzman’s Social Maturity Scale. Competitive sports are full of conditions by which foresight could be learned or enhanced. Players need to anticipate the tactics of the opponent team during a match. Besides, they learn not to spend their whole energy in the first half of the play. According to Weitzman (1949), positive approach acquisition is among the traits that establish social maturity. Getting involved in physical exercise and competitive sports makes the participant strong enough to have courage to start over again when a tragedy, like losing a game, occurs. Sport teaches a team not to give up immediately after a depression hits. They learn keep trying, even in the face of repeated failures in competitions. They will soon learn to take an active and positive approach to the problems of matches. 4. Conclusion Social development is one of the most important issues in individuals’ life. Because individuals with visual impairments do not have enough opportunity to develop their own social life, we suggest officials and parents encourage sports participation (like goalball) in visually impaired individuals to have a better opportunity of having more social interactions and social inclusions in life. Indeed, the social nature of goalball competition serves to provide social skill development. References Arditi, A., & Rosenthal, B. (1998). Developing an objective definition of visual impairment. Vision 96: Proceedings of the international low vision conference (pp. 331– 334). Madrid, Spain: ONCE. Celeste, M., & Darja, D. K. (2010). Social integration of children with visual impairment: A developmental model. Elementary Education Online, 9, 11–22. Coalter, F., Allison, M., & Taylor, J. (2000). The role of sport in regenerating deprived urban areas. Edinburgh: Scottish Office Central Research Unit. Forrest, R., & Kearns, A. (1999). Joined-up places? Social cohesion and neighborhood regeneration, York YPS for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Gallahue, D. L., & Ozmun, J. C. (2006). Understanding motor development: Infants, children, adolescents, adults (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill. Jones, R., & Chiba, C. (1985). Social skills assessment and intervention (final report). Bethesda, MD: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Kallanoitis, M., & Johnston, A. W. (1994). Visual environmental adaptation problems of partially sighted children. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 88, 234–243. Lieberman, L. J., & Cowart, J. F. (1996). Games for people with sensory impairments. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publisher. MacCuspie, P. A. (1992). The social acceptance and interaction of visually impaired children in integrated settings. In S. Z. Sacks, L. S. Kekelis, & R. J. Gaylord-Ross (Eds.), The development of social skills by blind and visually impaired students: Exploratory studies and strategies (pp. 83–102). New York: American Foundation for the Blind. Martens, R. (1988). Helping children become independent, responsible adults though sports. In E. W. Brown & C. F. Branta (Eds.), Competitive sports for children and youth (pp. 297–307). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publisher. Paciorek, M. J., & Jones, J. A. (2001). Sports and recreation for the disabled. Carmel: Cooper Publishing Group. Rettig, M. (1994). The play of young children with visual impairments: Characteristics and interventions. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 88, 410– 420.
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Robinson, B. (2002). Effects of visual impairment, gender and age on self-determination of children who are blind. Unpublished master’s thesis, SUNY Brockport, Brockport, NY. Sacks, S. K., Kekelis, L. S., & Gaylord-Ross, R. J. (1992). The development of social skills by blind and visually impaired students: Exploratory studies and strategies. New York: American Foundation for the Blind. Shields, D. L., & Bredemeier, B. L. (1995). Character development and physical activity. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Stein, J. U. (1996). From the editor. International Council on Health, Physical Education and Recreation Journal, 33, 44. Taub, D. E., & Greer, K. R. (2000). Physical activity as a normalizing experience for school-age children with physical disabilities: Implications for legitimation of social identity and enhancement of social ties. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 24, 395–414. Thomas, D. N. (1995). Community development at work: A case of obscurity in accomplishment. London: CDF Publications. Warren, D. (1984). (2nd ed.). Blindness and early childhood developmentNew York: American Foundation for the Blind. Weiss, M. R. (1987). Self-esteem and achievement in children’s sport and physical activity. In D. Gould & M. R. Weiss (Eds.), Advances in pediatric sport sciences. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. (Chapter 5). Weitzman, E. (1949). Growing up socially. Chicago, IL: Science Research Associates, Inc. Winnick, J. P. (2000). Adapted physical education and sport. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers. Zaharopoulos, E., & Hodge, K. P. (1991). Self-concept and sport participation. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 20, 12–16.
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Research in Developmental Disabilities
Differences in socialization between visually impaired student-athletes and non-athletes Ahmadreza Movahedi a,*, Hossein Mojtahedi a, Fateh Farazyani b a b
Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Isfahan, Hezar Jarib Street, Isfahan, Iran Payame Noor University, Kermanshah, Javanrood, Iran
A R T I C L E I N F O
A B S T R A C T
Article history: Received 17 August 2010 Accepted 23 August 2010
The purpose of the present study was to determine whether there was a significant difference in measure of socialization between visually impaired student-athletes and non-athletes. We compared the social skills of Iranian visually impaired student-athletes (n = 51) and visually impaired student non-athletes (n = 56) with ages ranging from 13 to 19 years enrolled in academic year 2009–2010. Socialization was measured with the Social Maturity Scale (Weitzman, 1949). The results indicate that the two examined groups differ in regards to socialization and that the visually impaired student-athletes scored significantly higher than the visually impaired student non-athletes on the socialization test, proving the notion that participation in sports results in better improvements in socializations. If officials and parents encourage sports participation in visually impaired individuals, they will have a better opportunity of having more social skills in life. ß 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Socialization Visual impairment Students Athletes
Several Studies have investigated development of socialization in visually impaired children and have concluded that they do not display a considerable amount of social interactions (Rettig, 1994; Sacks, Kekelis, & Gaylord-Ross, 1992; Warren, 1984). Socialization has been defined as the process by which individuals learn the knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and behaviors. This enables them to take part as members of society in which they live. Socialization is a life long process by which a child becomes an adult. People (especially family members, peers, and friends), institutions, and activities are the most important factors that affect the process of socialization. Socialization is particularly important during the period of adolescence. The need to belong is one of the most forceful forces of adolescence (Gallahue & Ozmun, 2006). Watching others often makes people develop social skills incidentally, yet individuals with visual impairments are not able to observe social interactions directly and often have disadvantages becoming socially proficient (Sacks et al., 1992). Stein (1996) claims that children with visual impairments are not fully socialized. The process of socialization is deeply affected by skills of daily living, recreational activities, and competitive sport experiences. Physical activities and sports play a critical role in psychosocial development. Investigators have found that children with visual impairment had fewer friends (MacCuspie, 1992) and were rejected by their sighted classmates leading to social isolation (Jones & Chiba, 1985). Sometimes, peer based social interactions are severely deteriorated in visually impaired children. Thus, social play may create feelings of frustration, annoyance and dissatisfaction rather than feelings of self-efficacy, sovereignty, and independence, which illustrate the social skill of typical children (Celeste & Darja, 2010). Visually impaired children usually face much more separation and are deficient in socialization opportunities compared to their sighted peers (Kallanoitis & Johnston, 1994; Robinson, 2002).
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +989131252711; fax: +983116687572. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (A. Movahedi), [email protected] (H. Mojtahedi), [email protected] (F. Farazyani). 0891-4222/$ – see front matter ß 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2010.08.013
A. Movahedi et al. / Research in Developmental Disabilities 32 (2011) 58–62
59
Weiss (1987) claims that because individuals seek group affiliation, they try to participate in physical activity programs. Self esteem, self confidence, and self competence that are essential materials for social development are also achieved through engaging in sports and physical exercises (Gallahue & Ozmun, 2006). According to Shields and Bredemeier (1995), sport is a socializing agent that forms attitudes, enhances value formation and moral development. Participation in sport and exercise offers opportunities that might result in greater and wider social networks, social connections and social cohesion. Regular participation in exercise leads to the establishment of friendship networks (Coalter, Allison, & Taylor, 2000). Sport and athletic competitions obviously has the potential to supply a great variety of social and recreational networks, which enhances social interaction. Social interactions provided by sport participation are critical and key elements for community development, social inclusion and mental wellbeing (Forrest & Kearns, 1999; Thomas, 1995). Sport and exercise can assist in the peer integration of young people with physical disabilities. Physical activity can be considered as a normalizing agent for children with physical disabilities. It provides social identity, enhances social skills and establishes social networks with their peers (Taub & Greer, 2000). In a study, Zaharopoulos and Hodge (1991) studied the difference between athletes and non-athletes’ physical ability self-concept. Their findings indicated that athletes differed from non-athletes in physical ability self-concept. They concluded that participation in sports is more likely to influence specific areas of self-concept. Because investigators have not yet studied social development in visually impaired students on the basis of their participation in organized and formal sports, and to shed more light on the role played by sports in social development, in the present study our goal was to determine whether there is a difference between visually impaired student-athletes and nonathletes’ social development. The foremost hypothesis was that visually impaired students who participate in goalball (a formal sport for visually impaired people) would show better socialization, as compared to visually impaired students who do not engage in goalball or any organized sports. The finding that visually impaired student-athletes showed better socialization in comparison with that of visually impaired student non-athletes would support the hypothesis that participation in organized and formal sports would result in achieving more improved socialization. 1. Methods 1.1. Participants A total of 107 visually impaired male students (aged from 13 to 19 years) from School for Visually Impaired Students in Tehran volunteered to take part in our study. In the present study, a student with visual impairments is an individual who has vision loss to such a degree as to qualify as an additional need through a considerable limitation of visual ability resulting from any conditions that can not be corrected by conventional means, such as refractive correction, medication, or surgery (Arditi & Rosenthal, 1998). The athlete group consisted of 51 goalball teams’ members. Goalball is a game for people with visual impairments. Players who want to compete in a goalball match must be legally blind. Each team includes 3 members; one centre and two wings. They try to defend their goal line. The game comprises two 7 min halves.It requieres a rubber ball with some bells inside. The bells are used for auditory tracking. Each player must wear a blindfold irrespective of the degree of visual disorder. The field of play is 18 m long by 9 m wide. (For more details, see Lieberman & Cowart, 1996; Paciorek & Jones, 2001; Winnick, 2000). The non-athlete group consisted of 56 non-active individuals not involving themselves in any kind of sport activity and athletic event before. To qualify as an athlete, a student must be presently representing a school or club competition. They took part in the study after their scheduled class. All participants were in reasonably good health and physical condition except being visually impaired. The study procedure, aims and the process of interview were told to them. Besides, they all gave their informed consent. The Committee for Ethical Considerations in Human Experimentation of University of Isfahan assessed and approved the experimental protocol. 1.2. Materials We used Weitzman’s Social Maturity Scale (1949) to evaluate the participants’ level of social development. The original version of Weitzman’s Social Maturity Scale is a 31-item questionnaire designed to measure social maturity level in 13–19-year-old individuals. The scale has been one of the most widely used socialization inventories. The questions are based on a study of social growth in teen-agers. The scale will give a teen-ager a measure of where she/he stands on the social development ladder. For each item, individuals are asked to mark 1 of 3 or 4 statements that best express their behavior or feelings. In answering the questions, one should be very careful to describe her/his own behavior as accurately, precisely and truthfully as possible. The questions deal with the individual’s level of sensible independence of others, looking ahead (foresight), moderation, positive approach, assuming responsibility, and sense of humor. Total scores were used in the analyses of the difference in measure of socialization between visually impaired student-athletes and non-athletes. 1.3. Procedure First we introduced the study and explained the aims of the investigation. Then the consented participants were administered the Social Maturity Scale. In total, the inventory took 40–50 min to complete for each student. The survey items
[(Fig._1)TD$IG]
A. Movahedi et al. / Research in Developmental Disabilities 32 (2011) 58–62
60
Fig. 1. Mean social development scores of the visually impaired student-athletes and visually impaired student non-athletes.
(questions and the three or four statements of each question) were read aloud for the participants. Then they were asked to choose their own choices. For inventory completion, the students were interviewed individually. 1.4. Statistics All data were expressed as the mean SD. Also, we used an independent t test to determine whether the groups differed significantly from each other in socialization. A probability level of <.01 was accepted as statistical significance. 2. Results With respect to the Social Maturity Scale, comparison of the two groups showed that they differ in regards to socialization and that the athletes scored significantly higher than non-athletes (Fig. 1). Analyses revealed that visually impaired athletestudents had a significantly higher social development mean score (M = 14.58, SD = 2.84) than their non-athlete counterparts (M = 10.23, SD = 2.83), t (105) = 4.68, p < .001. Table 1 describes the social maturity class (Weitzman, 1949) of visually impaired athlete-students and non-athlete students. 3. Discussion The purpose of the present investigation was to find out whether there was a significant difference in measure of socialization between visually impaired student-athletes and non-athletes. The results of our study indicated that visually impaired student-athletes differed significantly from their non-athlete counterparts in socialization. Indeed, the athletes scored significantly higher than non-athletes on the socialization test. The results of our investigation are consistent with the claims of Gallahue and Ozmun (2006), Weiss (1987), Shields and Bredemeier (1995), Coalter et al. (2000), Taub and Greer (2000), Thomas (1995), and Forrest and Kearns (1999). They claimed that participation in physical activity and sports leads to significant improvements in social development. Goalball may create the potential to provide the visually impaired student-athletes with a lot of social interactions. Thomas (1995) and Forrest and Kearns (1999) found that social interactions offered by participation in sport are vital and important elements for community development and social inclusion. Table 1 Classification of social maturity in visually impaired student-athletes and visually impaired student non-athlete. Groups
Visually impaired student-athletes Visually impaired student non-athletes
No
Social maturity class Below average scores: 6 or less
Average scores: 7–18
Above average scores: 19–26
Superior scores: 27 or more
No
Percentage
No
Percentage
No
Percentage
No
Percentage
51
0
0
20
39.21
31
60.79
0
0
56
2
3.57
51
91.07
3
5.36
0
0
A. Movahedi et al. / Research in Developmental Disabilities 32 (2011) 58–62
61
An adolescent’s need to be identified as a member of a team or club often leads to an interest in sports. The need for affiliation accounts for the popularity of peer play and youth sport. Recognition of the need for affiliation alerts teachers, instructors, coaches and parents to the value of play, games and sport as socializing agents (Gallahue & Ozmun, 2006). Goalball creates an environment in which an individual with visual impairments may feel himself as a member of a group. It provides a situation for affiliation, peer play and social interaction. Goallball creates a wonderful opportunity for individuals who have visual impairments or are blind to take part in an enjoyable and team sport. One of the best benefits of goal ball is that it promotes teamwork and cooperation among teammates. According to Weitzman (1949), there are some traits that distinguish socially mature adolescents from immature ones. These traits include cooperation, reasonable independence, looking ahead (foresight), moderation, positive approach, assuming responsibility, and sense of humor. The above-mentioned traits have been included in items of the Weitzman’s Social Maturity Scale. Since the visually impaired student-athletes scored higher than visually impaired student nonathletes on the socialization test in our study, it can be concluded that participation in goalball as a competitive sport has resulted in enhancement in traits of social maturity traits in visually impaired student-athletes. Weitzman (1949) states that cooperation and reasonable independence are among the most important traits of social maturity. Goalbal is a game that includes both cooperation and sensible independence. Goalball may create situations and conditions for children with visual impairments in which they feel that they are able to do something without others. When they score a goal they feel that they are competent to take care of their team. Weitzman (1949) indicates that a socially mature person does not always depend on others for assistance. Goalball teaches the visually impaired child the fact that he/ she should sometimes be independent in making decisions. Martens (1988) claims that organized sports have the potential to make every child a more responsible and an autonomous individual. Children learn to be much more cooperative, yet, less dependent on others. Martens (1988) believes that sport participation makes children learn to perceive the fact that they are responsible for themselves and responsible for the world in which they live. Doing sport will also teach the child that there is a certain peak beyond which too much independence results in performance deterioration. Moderation may also be learned by doing competitive sports. Every competitive sport including goalball usually results in either lose or win. Children will soon perceive the fact that there are ups and downs in consecutive competitions. They will soon understand the fact that losing a game may not be interpreted as an unpleasant event. Shields and Bredemeier (1995) argue that participation in sport make participants overcome difficult obstacles, cope with problems, insist on the face of opposition, and learn to live with both success and defeat. Foresight is a key element in Weitzman’s Social Maturity Scale. Competitive sports are full of conditions by which foresight could be learned or enhanced. Players need to anticipate the tactics of the opponent team during a match. Besides, they learn not to spend their whole energy in the first half of the play. According to Weitzman (1949), positive approach acquisition is among the traits that establish social maturity. Getting involved in physical exercise and competitive sports makes the participant strong enough to have courage to start over again when a tragedy, like losing a game, occurs. Sport teaches a team not to give up immediately after a depression hits. They learn keep trying, even in the face of repeated failures in competitions. They will soon learn to take an active and positive approach to the problems of matches. 4. Conclusion Social development is one of the most important issues in individuals’ life. Because individuals with visual impairments do not have enough opportunity to develop their own social life, we suggest officials and parents encourage sports participation (like goalball) in visually impaired individuals to have a better opportunity of having more social interactions and social inclusions in life. Indeed, the social nature of goalball competition serves to provide social skill development. References Arditi, A., & Rosenthal, B. (1998). 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