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

尽管体育锻炼(PA)在身心健康方面给自闭症年轻人(AYP)带来了许多好处，但研究一直表明，他们的身体活动比同龄人少。研究表明，AYP的PA参与度最大的下降是在青春期。人们对阻止AYP参与PA的障碍知之甚少。学校体育课是所有青少年都能接触到PA的一种方式。我的博士学位的目的是采用混合方法和多信息者的方法来了解AYP主流中学在接触和参与体育方面的障碍。我提出的研究的一个关键要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，以了解中学体育接触和参与的预测因素(与AYP共同编制)。在第二阶段，将使用定性访谈方法对自闭症成年人进行调查，以了解在体育活动中提高他们对PA参与度的因素。第一阶段和第二阶段的结果将为第三阶段心理教育干预试点的发展提供信息(与AYP和我的合作伙伴共同设计)，将从提高主流中学对AYP体育障碍/促进者的理解的角度进行评估。这项应用研究具有明显的潜力，可以影响巴勒斯坦人民的参与，并改善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.