Mental toughness has been described as the combination of attributes that facilitate the pursuit, attainment, and maintenance of performance excellence ( McGeown, St Clair-Thompson, & Clough, 2015 ). Such attributes include self-belief, resilience, thriving on pressure, commitment, personal
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The Development of a Behavior Checklist for Mentally Tough Behaviors in Volleyball
Leilani Madrigal
Vulnerability: Ripples From Reflections on Mental Toughness
Mark A. Uphill and Brian Hemmings
The aim of this paper is to present a critical reflection on mental toughness using a creative analytic practice. In particular, we move from intrapersonal technical reflections to an altogether more interpersonal cultural analysis that (re)considers some of the assumptions that can underpin sport psychology practice. Specifically, in the ripples that extend from these initial technical reflections, we argue that it is important to understand vulnerability, and consider (a) wounded healers, (b) the ideology of individualism, and (c) the survivor bias to help make sense of current thinking and applied practice. Emerging from these ripples are a number of implications (naming elephants, tellability, neoliberalism) from which sport psychologists may reflect upon to enhance their own practice. In making visible the invisible, we conclude that vulnerability can no longer be ignored in sport psychology discourse, research, and practice. Should this story of vulnerability resonate, we encourage you, where appropriate to share this story.
Mental Toughness as a Determinant of Beliefs, Pain, and Adherence in Sport Injury Rehabilitation
Andrew R. Levy, Remco C.J. Polman, Peter J. Clough, David C. Marchant, and Keith Earle
Objective:
To investigate the relationship between mental toughness, sport injury beliefs, pain, and adherence toward a sport injury rehabilitation program.
Design:
A prospective design was employed that evaluated adherence over the entire rehabilitation period.
Participants:
70 patients undertaking a sport injury rehabilitation program for a tendonitis related injury.
Main Outcome Measures:
Adherence was measured using self report measures of clinic and home based rehabilitation alongside attendance.
Results:
No association was found between mental toughness and coping appraisals, although high mentally tough individuals displayed more positive threat appraisals and were better able to cope with pain than their less mentally tough counterparts. Greater attendance at rehabilitation sessions was displayed by more mentally tough individuals; however, more positive behavior during clinic rehabilitation was characterized by low mental toughness.
Conclusions:
Despite the 0benefits of being mentally tough, sports medicine providers need to be aware that a high degree of mental toughness may have negative consequences upon rehabilitation behavior and subsequently recovery outcomes.
Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior to Physical Activity: The Moderating Role of Mental Toughness
Thomas E. Hannan, Robyn L. Moffitt, David L. Neumann, and Patrick R. Thomas
This study explored whether mental toughness, the capacity to maintain performance under pressure, moderated the relation between physical activity intentions and subsequent behavior. Participants (N = 117) completed the Mental Toughness Index and a theory of planned behavior questionnaire. Seven days later, physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control explained substantial variance (63.1%) in physical activity intentions. Intentions also significantly predicted physical activity behavior. The simple slopes analyses for the moderation effect revealed a nonsignificant intention–behavior relation at low levels of mental toughness. However, intentions were significantly and positively related to physical activity when mental toughness was moderate or high, suggesting that the development of a mentally tough mindset may reduce the gap between behavior and physical activity intention. Future research is needed to confirm these findings and apply them in the design of mental toughness interventions to facilitate physical activity engagement.
Australian Football Coaches’ Tales of Mental Toughness: Exploring the Sociocultural Roots
Stephanie J. Tibbert, Mark B. Andersen, Tony Morris, and Christopher Mesagno
Mental toughness (MT) is a performance psychology concept that has become increasingly popular for both the applied and academic practitioner over the past 3 decades. Its appeal is understandable when one reviews descriptions of MT, with definitions reflecting desirable and often heroic behaviors
Coaches’ Perceptions of Mental Toughness in Adolescent Athletes: A Phenomenological Exploration
Johannes Raabe, E. Earlynn Lauer, and Matthew P. Bejar
the necessary coping skills to effectively navigate the youth sport environment. Researchers have suggested that mental toughness (MT) is a psychological resource that enables athletes to thrive in challenging situations. That is, MT helps athletes cope with the stressors of their sport participation
Exploring the Relationship Between Mental Toughness and Self-Compassion in the Context of Sport Injury
Karissa L. Johnson, Danielle L. Cormier, Kent C. Kowalski, and Amber D. Mosewich
responses with positive injury outcomes and eventual return-to-play. 3 Mental toughness is one psychological factor positively associated with resilience and sport performance. 4 Mental toughness is conceptualized as “a personal capacity to produce consistently high levels of subjective (eg
Mental Toughness, Sport-Related Well-Being, and Mental Health Stigma Among National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Student-Athletes
Matthew D. Bird, Eadie E. Simons, and Patricia C. Jackman
athletes to cope with and overcome these challenging circumstances, with the ultimate goal of protecting and improving their well-being. Mental toughness is a personal resource that can help athletes to produce consistently high levels of performance and to sustain goal-directed behavior, despite everyday
The Organizational Effect of Prenatal Testosterone Upon Gender Role Identity and Mental Toughness in Female Athletes
Jenny Meggs, Mark Chen, and Danielle Mounfield
and ego goal orientations and mental toughness. Mental toughness is thought to be a collection of cognitive, affective and behavioral characteristics (a psychological resource) that allow an individual to manage the stressors of competition and perform well ( Gucciardi, Gordon, & Dimmock, 2008 ). The
Elite Swimming Coaches’ Perceptions of Mental Toughness
Andrew P. Driska, Cindra Kamphoff, and Suzannah Mork Armentrout
Using the mental toughness framework of Jones, Hanton and Connaughton (2007), the authors interviewed thirteen highly-experienced swimming coaches in a two-part study to determine the specific mental toughness subcomponents present in mentally tough swimmers, and to examine the factors that led swimmers to develop mental toughness. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using methods outlined by Creswell (2007). While confirming eleven of thirteen subcomponents of mental toughness previously identified by Jones et al. (2007), the participants identified (a) “coachability” and (b) “retaining psychological control on poor training days” as previously unidentified subcomponents of mental toughness. In the second part of the study, the authors identified six higher-order themes describing how both the coach and the swimmer acted to develop mental toughness in the swimmer. Implications for researchers, swimming coaches, and sport psychology consultants are discussed.
