Crust, Lee and Azadi, Kayvon (2010) Mental toughness and athletes’ use of psychological strategies. European Journal of Sport Science , 10 (1). pp. 43-51. ISSN 1746-1391

Preview	PDF MT&tops.pdf - Whole Document Download (97Kb)
	PDF 45542415.pdf - Whole Document Restricted to Repository staff only Download (87Kb) | Request a copy

Abstract

This study tested the relationship between mental toughness and athletes’ use of psychological performance strategies. A sample of 67 male (M age = 22.55 years, SD = 4.96) and 40 female athletes (M age = 21.08 years, SD = 2.81) acted as participants, and ranged from club / university to national level in a variety of sports. Participants completed the MTQ48 (Clough et al., 2002) to measure mental toughness, and the Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS; Thomas et al., 1999) to measure the use of psychological strategies in practice and competition. Results of Pearson correlations and linear regression analyses revealed that self-talk, emotional control and relaxation strategies were significantly and positively (r = 0.26 to 0.37, P < 0.01) related to mental toughness in both practice and competition. Of the MTQ48 subscales, commitment was found to most frequently load against performance strategies and as such it is possible that the results of this study reflect highly committed performers seeking out performance enhancement strategies. Consistent with theoretical predictions, athletes of county standard and above reported significantly higher levels of mental toughness than club / university athletes (t105 = -2.25, P = 0.03).

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This study tested the relationship between mental toughness and athletes’ use of psychological performance strategies. A sample of 67 male (M age = 22.55 years, SD = 4.96) and 40 female athletes (M age = 21.08 years, SD = 2.81) acted as participants, and ranged from club / university to national level in a variety of sports. Participants completed the MTQ48 (Clough et al., 2002) to measure mental toughness, and the Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS; Thomas et al., 1999) to measure the use of psychological strategies in practice and competition. Results of Pearson correlations and linear regression analyses revealed that self-talk, emotional control and relaxation strategies were significantly and positively (r = 0.26 to 0.37, P < 0.01) related to mental toughness in both practice and competition. Of the MTQ48 subscales, commitment was found to most frequently load against performance strategies and as such it is possible that the results of this study reflect highly committed performers seeking out performance enhancement strategies. Consistent with theoretical predictions, athletes of county standard and above reported significantly higher levels of mental toughness than club / university athletes (t105 = -2.25, P = 0.03).
Keywords:	Commitment, Confidence, Emotional control, Psychological skills, refsubscription, ref26d
Subjects:	C Biological Sciences > C600 Sports Science C Biological Sciences > C800 Psychology
Divisions:	College of Social Sciences > Faculty of Health & Social Sciences > School of Sport & Exercise Science
Depositing User:	Lee Crust
Date Deposited:	12 May 2010 21:22
Last Modified:	18 Apr 2013 16:25
URI:	http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/id/eprint/2435

Actions (login required)

View Item