A mixed methods study of the factors that influence engagement in physical acitivity for autistic adolescents.

尽管身体活动（PA）在身心健康方面为自闭症青少年（AYP）带来了许多好处，但研究一致表明，他们的身体活动比同龄人少。研究表明，参加AYP的PA人数最大的下降是在青春期。关于阻止AYP参与PA的障碍知之甚少。学校的体育教育是所有青少年获得体育教育的途径之一。我的博士学位的目的是采取混合方法和多信息的方法来了解AYP主流中学的体育准入和参与的障碍。我提出的研究的一个关键因素是，参与式方法将从一开始就塑造研究（与AYP和我在北约克郡体育的合作伙伴）。在研究的第一阶段，将进行一项大规模的研究，以了解中学体育接入和参与AYP的预测因素（与AYP共同制作）。在第二阶段，定性访谈方法将用于自闭症成年人，以了解在体育期间提高他们参与PA的因素。第一阶段和第二阶段的研究结果将为第三阶段的心理教育干预试点（与AYP和我的合作伙伴共同设计）的开发提供信息，该试点将在提高主流中学对AYP体育障碍/促进因素的理解方面进行评估。这项应用研究具有明显的潜力，影响参与PA和改善AYP的福祉。

Despite the fact that physical activity (PA) confers many benefits for autistic young people (AYP) in terms of physical and mental well-being, research consistently indicates thatthey are less physically active than their peers. Research indicates that the biggest drop-off in PA participation for AYP is during adolescence. Very little is known about thebarriers that prevent AYP from engaging in PA. Physical education (PE) at school is one way that all adolescents have access to PA. The aim of my PhD is to take a mixed-methods and multi-informant approach to understand the barriers to access and engagement in PE in mainstream secondary schools for AYP. A crucial element to my proposed researchis that participatory methods will shape the research from the outset (with AYP and my collaborative partner in NorthYorkshire Sport). In phase 1 of the research, a large-scalestudy will be conducted to understand the predictors of secondary school PE access and engagement for AYP (coproduced with AYP). In phase 2, qualitative interview methods will be used with autistic adults to understand the factors that would have improved their engagement in PA during PE. The findings from phases 1 and 2 will inform thedevelopment of a pilot psychoeducation intervention in phase 3 (co-designed with AYP and my collaborative partner), which will be evaluated in terms of improving understanding of barriers/facilitators to PE for AYP in mainstream secondary schools. This applied research has clear potential for impacting engagement in PA and improving the well-being of AYP.