Individuals with disabilities who engage in regular physical activity reduce their risk of diseases such as obesity and heart disease, as well as other risk factors; relieve tense emotions, and improve their quality of life via interaction with others. Despite these advantages, only one out of every four Koreans with a disability engages in physical activity. Grit is the ability to maintain interest and effort towards a goal in the face of adversity and failure. Grit can act as an important factor in increasing the psychological level of individuals with disabilities. We investigated the relationship between basic psychological needs, grit, and the quality of life of disabled individuals to determine if physical activities can improve their quality of life. Our dataset included 296 disabled individuals registered with the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare. Using structural equation modelling, the direct and indirect effects of grit, quality of life, and psychological needs satisfaction such as competence, relatedness, and autonomy were examined. We found that competence positively affects consistency of interests (β = 0.150, t = 1.854), relatedness positively affects consistency of interests (β = 0.354, t = 4.409), and autonomy has no statistically significant effects (β = 0.101, t = 1.086). Second, competence positively affects perseverance of effort (β = 0.249, t = 3.206), autonomy negatively affects perseverance of effort (β = −0.269, t = −2.880), and relatedness has no statistically significant effects (β = −0.017, t = −0.249). Third, autonomy positively affects quality of life (β = 0.214, t = 2.349) while competence and relatedness had no statistically significant effects (β = −0.018, t = −0.208; β = 0.096, t = 1.288). Fourth, consistency of interests positively affects quality of life (β = 0.312, t = 4.191) while perseverance of effort had no statistically significant effects (β = −0.094, t = −1.480). Fifth, competence was found to have positive indirect effects on quality of life through grit. This study underscores the importance of addressing these three basic psychological needs and elements of grit when designing future quality of life interventions for disabled individuals.

This study aims to predict the characteristics of the exercise healthcare industry in the post-pandemic era by comparing the periods before and after the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak through big data analysis. TEXTOM, the Korean big data collection and analysis solution, was used for data collection. The pre-pandemic period was defined as 1 January 2018–31 December 2019 and the pandemic period as 1 January 2020–31 December 2021. The keywords for data collection were “exercise + healthcare + industry”. Text mining and social network analysis were conducted to determine the overall characteristics of the Korean exercise healthcare industry. We identified 30 terms that appeared most frequently on social media. Four common (smart management, future technology, fitness, and research) and six different clusters (sports education, exercise leader, rehabilitation, services, business, and COVID-19) were obtained for the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. Smart management, future technology, fitness, and research are still important values across both periods. The results provide meaningful data and offer valuable insights to explore the changing trends in exercise healthcare.

This study examines how consumer innovativeness shapes university students’ purchase intention toward health-oriented wearable devices and how perceived ease of use, usefulness, and enjoyment transmit that influence. A survey was administered to undergraduates at universities in China using convenience sampling (N = 435). Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling, and bias-corrected bootstrapping were performed. Consumer innovativeness positively affected perceived ease of use, usefulness, and enjoyment. Perceived ease of use positively influenced perceived usefulness, which in turn enhanced perceived enjoyment. Perceived usefulness and enjoyment significantly increased purchase intention, whereas perceived ease of use had no direct effect. Effect decomposition showed, however, that perceived ease of use exerted a significant total effect (β = 0.276) operating entirely through usefulness and enjoyment, and that the sequential pathway from ease of use through usefulness and enjoyment to purchase intention was significant. Purchase intention toward health-oriented wearable devices is therefore formed through a multilayered mechanism in which cognitive evaluation precedes affective experience. A non-significant direct path should not be read as evidence that ease of use has ceased to matter.

Introduction: This study explored the inclusive dance experiences of adults with developmental disabilities through the lens of embodied agency and critical phenomenology. Most previous research on arts participation has focused on outcomes such as emotional stability, social connectedness, and quality of life. However, less is known about how arts participation, specifically inclusive dance, is experienced and sustained. This study examined how rehearsal and performance experiences engender embodied possibilities, relational self-understanding, and conditions of wellbeing. Methods: This qualitative case study included three adults with developmental disabilities who had accumulated between 9 and 13 years of participation in an inclusive dance company in Seoul, along with their primary caregivers. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and observations, focusing on repeated rehearsals and performance practices, everyday experiences, and relational interactions. The data were analyzed through repeated readings to identify key themes, using a phenomenological perspective for directional interpretation. Results: Inclusive dance participation was experienced as a process through which participants encountered their bodies and possibilities anew through repeated performances, relational coordination, public recognition, and environmental flexibility. Rehearsal and performance enabled participants to experience their bodies as capable, while their sense of agency was shaped by moving with others and adjusting to shared performance situations. Their performance experiences extended their self-expression and relational self-understanding through public recognition and role-taking. Sustained participation was maintained and negotiated through bodily conditions, temporal arrangements, mobility support, caregiving relationships, and flexible performance environments. Discussion: This study interprets inclusive dance as a participatory experience in which the body, relationships, norms, and everyday world intersect for adults with developmental disabilities. Its contribution lies in suggesting that the meaning of arts participation cannot be understood only as a psychological change or program effect. Rather, inclusive dance can be understood as a process involving embodied agency, normative visibility, relational self-understanding, and conditions of sustained participation.

Objectives/Background: Regular physical activity is a key health behavior associated with physical and mental well-being. However, sustaining physical activity remains challenging among adults, and the psychological mechanisms that support continued engagement require further clarification. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, this study examined the roles of autonomous motivation and controlled regulation in health behavior engagement, focusing on the mediating role of physical activity self-regulation strategies. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 468 Korean adults. Autonomous motivation and controlled regulation were assessed using the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-3, and physical activity self-regulation strategies were measured using the Physical Activity Self-Regulation Scale. Health behavior engagement was assessed using a single-item measure based on the stages of change for exercise. Structural equation modeling with bootstrapping was used to examine direct and indirect relationships among the study variables. Results: Both autonomous motivation (β = 0.649, p < 0.001) and controlled regulation (β = 0.153, p < 0.001) were positively associated positive with self-regulation strategies. Self-regulation strategies were positively associated with health behavior engagement (β = 0.336, p < 0.001). Autonomous motivation showed both a significant direct effect (β = 0.131, p = 0.018) and a significant indirect effects through self-regulation strategies (bias-corrected 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.206, 0.420]) on health behavior engagement, indicating partial mediation. In contrast, controlled regulation showed no significant direct effect (β = −0.062, p = 0.144) but had a significant indirect effect through self-regulation strategies (bias-corrected 95% CI [0.043, 0.131]). Conclusions: Autonomous motivation appears to be a stronger predictor of health behavior engagement than controlled regulation, both directly and indirectly through self-regulation strategies. These findings highlight the importance of motivational quality and suggest that self-regulation strategies are a key mechanism through which motivation is translated into physical activity engagement among adults. Interventions should therefore combine autonomy-supportive approaches alongside the development of practical self-regulatory skills to promote sustained physical activity.