Introduction: Several studies examined the mental health of athletes and non-athletes, However, There is limited information on the mental health of athletes and non-athletes with sensory disabilities. So, the aim of this study was to compare the mental health of athletes and non-athletes with sensory disabilities.
Methods: The sample population was 120 (30 blind athlete, 30 blind non-athletes, 30 deaf athlete and 30 deaf non-athletes) male sensory disabled people from the city of Tehran, who were selected by Convenience sampling. The measuring instrument of the study was the GHQ-28 Questionnaire (MHQ) which includes 4 sub-scales of mental health. The collected data were analyzed using Manvitney U test and T-student test.
Results: The results of the study indicated that there is a significant difference between mental health and sub-scales of somatic symptoms, anxiety, and insomnia and severe depression in athletes and non-athletes sensory disabled people (p<0.001). But there is no significant difference between the two groups in sub-scale of social dysfunction (p<0.001).
Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that the mental health of the sensory disabled athlete's people was better than those of the sensory disabled non-athletes. Therefore it seems necessary that sports and physical activities be more attended in the daily schedule of disabled people.