Neuro-Somatic Alignment: A Conceptual and Psychometric Assessment of Mental Health, Appearance Anxiety, and Their Correlational Dynamics across Differential Strata of Sports Participation among Para-Able (Disabled) Individuals

Abstract

Language around disability does more than describe bodies; it also organises how those bodies are valued, included, or marginalised. In line with the emerging shift from a deficit-oriented notion of “disability” toward a more ability-focused discourse of para-ability, this study offers a conceptual and psychometric examination of mental health and appearance anxiety among para-able (disabled) women, and investigates how these constructs vary with sports participation. Within this para-ability perspective, and guided by a neuro-somatic alignment framework that links bodily engagement with psychological functioning, the research treats sport as a potential site where mind and body can be jointly strengthened rather than separately managed. A quantitative descriptive–comparative–correlational design was employed. Using purposive sampling, data were collected from 30 para-able women aged 18–28 years (15 athletes and 15 non-athletes) with limb-related impairments. Standardised instruments—the Mental Health Inventory and the Appearance Anxiety Inventory—were administered to assess overall mental health and appearance-related anxiety. Group differences were analysed using independent-samples t-tests, and associations between variables were examined through Pearson’s product–moment correlation. Para-able athletes obtained markedly higher mental health scores (M = 175.00) than para-able non-athletes (M = 126.60), and substantially lower appearance-anxiety scores (M = 10.00 vs. 18.33); both differences were highly significant (p < .001). Across the full sample, mental health and appearance anxiety showed a strong negative correlation (r = –0.879, p < .001), indicating that more robust mental health tends to co-occur with lower appearance-related worry, whereas elevated appearance anxiety is linked with more vulnerable psychological functioning. The findings indicate that inclusive para-sport environments can gradually shift perceptions from viewing para-able women as passive recipients of sympathy to recognising them as capable, high-performing agents with visible competence and contribution. Embedding adaptive sports opportunities within rehabilitation and mental-health programmes may therefore support stronger mental health, reduced appearance anxiety, and a more coherent neuro-somatic alignment in which body and mind work together to sustain para-ability in everyday life.