What is mental toughness?

Initially research on mental toughness focused on elite athletes and was defined as athletes having a psychological edge to assist with the high demands of sport(Gerber & Brand, 2012).

Though Mental Toughness is a widely used term in sports psychology it is the least understood. There is not a lot of evidence to support certain claims and there is some confusion about the concept (Jones et al., 2007).The reason for the confusion and ambiguity is that many of the explanations of Mental Toughness derive from anecdotal and personal accounts of participants. One definition states that Mental Toughness is a natural or developed construct allowing the participants to cope with the demands of training and competing better than their opponents. Individuals that demonstrate Mental Toughness attributes are consistent in their performance and are determined and focused under pressure (James et al,2007). When Jones et al. (2007) interviewed elite athletes and devised the framework listed below, athletes stated that the Mental Toughness attributes fluctuated during their careers and that it was something that they had to continually nurture. Which suggests that Mental Toughness can be learned and it is not something that it wholly innate.

Coping is a component of Mental Toughness and is seen as the most important psychological quality that determines success in the athletic arena. It is believed that Mental Toughness helps athletes cope with stress. There isn't a lot of evidence to show that athletes always cope effectively and It is unclear how Mental Toughness is related to coping.

Framework for Mental Toughness in sport; dimensions and subcategories.

Devised by Jones et al.,(2007). to identify key attributes of Mental Toughness

Figure 2. Winning is more than having a strong body

Attitude /Mindset

-unshakeable self belief

-inner arrogance

-pushing through any obstance in ones way

-belief in desire to fulfil ones potential

Focus

-not distracted by short term goals

-acheivement becomes top priority in life

-Know when to switch off and on from sport/goals

Training

-long term goals are a source of motivation

-control your environment

-push yourself to the limit

Competition

-Handle pressure

-stay focused

-regulate performance

-belief

-control thoughts and feelings

-control the environment

Post competition

-handle failure

- handle success

Jones et al., (2007).

Debate about Mental Toughness

There is some debate about what mental toughness is. There is no agreed understanding of mental toughness as a concept but is generally defined as personal characteristics that help people achieve and perform to their highest level (Mahoney et al.,2014).

Past research shows that some professionals view mental toughness as a state of mind and others as a personality trait, this debate continues. (Crust,2008).

Four behavioural genetic studies looked at the degree in Mental Toughness between individuals can be due to genetic and environmental factors. Using twin studies it suggested that half of the variation in Mental Toughness is due to genetic factors. Genetic research has not identified genes that contribute to variation in Mental Toughness(Lin et al., 2017).

Mental toughness is often seen as distinct concept unrelated to mental health but they share overlapping concepts and mental toughness is associated with positive mental health(Gucciardi et at.,2017).

Caddick and Ryall (2011), have critiqued Mental Toughness constructs in sport for several reasons. The narrative of the sporting hero who has overcome all adversity to succeed is unobtainable for most athletes. Generally a small proportion of athletes are elite. Personal excellence is less valued than winning. The traits in Mental Toughness that athletes possess, such as perseverance, focus and endless motivation should be valued regardless of winning. Individuals who cannot obtain the high standards of Mental Toughness can be seen as morally inferior. For example being told to "push through the pain", even if it means risking injury.

Some athletes have had clinical depression and still be able to perform at elite levels. This appears to be at odds with the construct of Mental Toughness, professionally athletes were performing but personally and emotionally were struggling. This makes it harder to fully understand the concept of Mental Toughness because the attributes are associated with better psychological wellbeing but also co existing with a mental illness such as depression (Anderson, 2011).

Measuring Mental Toughness

Early research focused on qualitative approaches designed to conceptualise what Mental Toughness in sport was. More recent approaches utilize a qualitative approach using psychometric inventories looking at relationships between key correlates and more recently retrospective interviews and intervention programs(Gucciardi, et al,20110).

The Mental Toughness questionnaire (MTQ48) is used to assess characteristics of Mental Toughness. It assesses Mental Toughness in total and has 4 subcomponents.

control(emotion and life)- acting and feeling as though one is influential.

commitment-tendency to involve oneself and not feel alienated from an encounter.

challenge- see life as changeable and view threat as an opportunity.

confidence(interpersonal and abilities)-unshakeable faith and self belief in ability to succeed.

Individuals that scored high on Mental Toughness and in particular the sub components of control and confidence were better able to tolerate a physical endurance task than those that had lower scores. Other research using the MTQ48 questionnaire showed that individuals with higher scores were able to cope with pain better and more likely to adhere to physical based therapy after sustaining an injury (Nichols et al.2008).

How does mental toughness help us to have better lives?

Mental Health-one longitudinal study of Mental Toughness was positively associated with life satisfaction, well adjusted individuals have less stress, less depressive symptoms and higher life satisfacion. Maladjusted individuals have lower levels of Mental Toughness. In one sample group of 284 high school students and 140 undergrad students it was shown that Mental Toughness moderated the relationship between depressive symptoms and stress (Lin et al., 2017).

Sleep quality-studies reveal that individuals scoring higher on Mental Toughness have better sleep efficiency, less awakenings and greater deep and rapid eye movement sleep (Lin et al.,2017).

Stress and coping-Mental Toughness has been linked to a range of abilities such as coping better, better emotion control and problem solving (Lin et al.,2017).

Psychological theory

Self Determination Theory- can help to explain the motivational antecedents of mental toughness, it is a meta theory of human motivation and considers to what level our actions are chosen and acted upon. There are three innate and universal psychological needs, autonomy, competence and relatedness. These growth needs drive our behaviour and lead to psychological development and growth.

Autonomy is the need to make one owns choices and have control over their direction.

Competence is the need to gain mastery of tasks and develop skills, doing so will increase the likelihood that they will have the confidence to achieve goals.

Relatedness is the need to feel connected to others and social environments.

satisfying or thwarting psychological needs is dependant on social contextual factors. Nurturing environments that enhance one's psychological needs, encourages growth and development. Thwarting psychological needs through a controlling environment will stunt psychological growth. The factors that are identified in contributing to Mental Toughness have shared similarities as Self Determination Theory principles. Coaches can encourage Mental Toughness development in athletes by forming trusting relationships which attend to relatedness, create challenging pressurized situations that attend to competence and include athletes in preparation and competition which attends to autonomy(Mahoney et al,2014).

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