Self-concept and need for achievement of men with physical disabilities

Self-concept and need for achievement of athletically active and relatively inactive American males with physical disabilities were investigated using the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale Counseling Form (Fitts, 1965) and the Thematic Apperception Test (McClelland, Clark, Roby, & Atkinson, 1949). The subjects were 45 men, ranging from 18 to 40 years old, with physical disabilities. We hypothesized that subjects in the athletically active group had a more favorable mean self-concept and a higher mean need for achievement than subjects in the inactive group. Fifty able-bodied subjects, composing two counterpart groups, were also included in the study. It was hypothesized that the differences regarding the criterion variables between disabled and able-bodied counterpart groups would be negligible. The results of an analysis of variance (ANOVA) and an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) supported the hypothesis that predicted significant differences at the .025 alpha level between the athletic and the inactive disabled groups. Age, education, and level of disability were treated as covariates. The results of this study also supported the hypothesis that predicted negligible differences (p less than .10) between the disabled subjects and the able-bodied counterpart groups.