An international comparison of patterns of participation in leisure activities for children with and without disabilities in Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate whether there are differences in participation in leisure activities between children with and without disabilities in Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands and how much personal and environmental factors explain leisure performance.

Methods: In a cross-sectional analytic design, the Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment, CAPE, was performed with 278 children with disabilities and 599 children without disabilities aged 6–17 years. A one-way between-groups ANOVA explored the differences in participation between the countries. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis assessed if age, gender, educational level, living area and country of residence explained the variance in participation.

Results: Scandinavian children with disabilities participated in more activities with higher frequency compared to Dutch children. The strongest predictor was country of residence. For children without disabilities, differences existed in informal activities, the strongest predictor was gender.

Conclusion: Differences in school- and support systems between the countries seem to influence patterns of participation, affecting children with disabilities most.