MODEL FOR PROMOTING THE HEALTH OF THE CHAMPION'S MENTAL CAPACITY THROUGH IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE TO THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE NATIONAL ELITE ATHLETES OF THE PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE AT THE NATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE INDONESIA (NPCI)

Abstract

Elite national Paralympic athletes are required not only to achieve optimal sporting performance but also to maintain sustainable quality of life and mental health. This study aims to analyze and develop a health promotion model of champion mental capacity in relation to the performance of elite national Paralympic athletes at the National Paralympic Committee of Indonesia (NPCI), with quality of life as a mediating variable. The study employed a mixed-methods approach with a sequential explanatory design. The qualitative phase explored the dimensions and characteristics of champion mental capacity, followed by a quantitative phase to test the proposed structural model.

The research object comprised champion mental capacity health promotion, quality of life, and athletic performance, while the research subjects were elite national athletes with disabilities affiliated with NPCI. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and document analysis in the qualitative phase, and structured questionnaires in the quantitative phase, including a researcher-developed champion mental capacity instrument and the WHOQOL-BREF to assess quality of life. Quantitative data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with bootstrapping.

The results indicate that champion mental capacity health promotion has a strong and significant effect on quality of life (β = 0.922, p < 0.001), and quality of life significantly influences athletic performance (β = 1.227, p < 0.001). The indirect effect through quality of life is also significant (β = 1.132, p < 0.001), demonstrating a dominant partial mediation. The model explains 15.2% of performance variance with high predictive relevance (Q² = 0.671). These findings highlight that improving Paralympic athletes’ performance is more effectively achieved through strengthening quality of life via champion mental capacity health promotion.