The impact of dual-career support systems on perceived barriers among European student-athletes with disabilities

The aim of this study was to compare the socio-demographic, sporting characteristics and perceptions of student-athletes with disabilities of perceived barriers according to the state system of dual career support. Two hundred and twelve student-athletes with disabilities from two European countries with state centralisation in dual career-related education competences (n = 97) and three European countries with a laissez-faire system (n = 115) participated in this research. The perceptions of dual-career student-athletes (EST?PORT) questionnaire, the exercise benefits/barriers scale (EBBS), and the athletic identity measurement scale (AIMS) were used for data collection. Student-athletes in countries with laissez-faire systems perceived the difficulty of combining family care (p = 0.024; ES = 0.31), the time required to practice sport (p = 0.005; ES = 0.38), as well as the limitation of timetables (p < 0.001; ES = 0.52) and places that make sport practice possible (p < 0.001; ES = 0.73) as barriers. In conclusion, when a country’s educational system does not have structured support systems for dual careers, student-athletes perceive more barriers, regardless of their sporting level.