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Ranking of Attributes for the Mentally Tough Soccer Player
Context in source publication
Context 1
... findings regarding the perceived importance of the attributes for the mentally tough soccer player are presented in Table 1. The general categories as forwarded by Jones et al. (2002) are supported within the present study with the need for self-belief standing out as being more important than other attributes. ...
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Citations
... In the results of studies conducted in recent years, scientists have not agreed on the conceptual framework of mental toughness (Clough et al., 2002;Gould et al., 2002;Gucciardi et al., 2009;Thelwell et al., 2005). The necessity of embodying the conceptual framework more effectively and accurately emerges (Gucciardi et al., 2015). ...
... Again, there have been some studies in the literature including some psychological skills and mental endurance components. Thelwell et al. (2005) concluded that imagery and targeting skills have an effect on increasing mental toughness. Madigan and Nicholls (2017) found that athletes with high intrinsic motivation also have high levels of mental endurance. ...
Scientific realities show that mental toughness and psychological skills are very important for athletes to be psychologically well not only before the competition but also during and after the competition. Being able to continue the sports life at the same time while carrying out educational activities requires more mental toughness and psychological skills than usual. From this point of view, the research aims to determine the role of psychological skills in sports in the mental resilience of athletes who actively do sports and to analyse their relations with each other and with some variables. The study group of the research consists of 420 student-athletes (Avgage=21.96±3.20), 130 of them are females (31.0%) and 290 of them are males (69.0%), studying in the faculties of sports sciences. In the current study, “the Athletes' Psychological Skills Assessment Scale” and “The Mental Toughness Scale” was used. Descriptive statistics, T-Test, ANOVA and Multiple Linear Regression analysis were used for data analysis. In the research findings, it was detected that male athletes have a better ability to perform well under pressure and income status has an effect on getting rid of worries, goal setting and mental preparation. The mental toughness and psychological skills of those who slept 8 hours or less a day were higher than those who slept 8 hours or more. Similarly, it was concluded that athletes who have reading habits have higher mental toughness and psychological skills. Additionally, one of the important results of the research is also that improving concentration, being open to learning, the ability to cope with difficulties, confidence and success motivation, targeting and mental preparation skills, which
are among the psychological skills of athletes, explain 44% of the total variance in mental toughness. It can be said that psychological skills have an important role in determining mental toughness.
... Because it is hard to organize soccer competition without officials, officials are important in the sport. 10,20,21 Subsequently, officials' psychological performance ought to likewise be considered as a territory of further investigation and ought to be taken as a need to inspect distinctive mental variable that influences the exhibition of authorities. Psychological performance relies on various viewpoints, for example, inspiration, focus, adapting to pressure, and anxiety. ...
Few studies have looked at the psychological mechanisms that govern soccer officials’ performance to this point. The main goal of the study is to identify age-related changes in mental toughness among officials. Sixty active national officials were chosen at random from the All-India Football Federation’s national officials’ roster (AIFF). Group A is 25-30 years old, with a mean and SD of 27.4±3.39 (lower age group); Group B is 31-35 years old, with a mean and SD of 31.8±1.28 (middle age group); and Group C is 36-40 years old, with a mean and SD of 37.6±1.98 (higher age group). The Psychological Performance Inventory (PPI), developed by James E. Loehr in 1982, was chosen as the research’s test item. This instrument evaluates seven aspects of mental toughness, including selfconfidence, negative energy control, attention control, visualisation and imagery control, motivation, positive energy control, and attitude control. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), with a significance threshold of 0.05, was used as the statistical approach to assess the study’s hypothesis. The finding of the research paper shows no significant difference among various groups.
... Umpire decisions, spectators, rival athletes, weather conditions, and the media are examples of external influences. Mental toughness is defined by concepts such as effectively coping with pressure and difficulties, recovery after failures, challenge, being insistent and not giving up, competition with himself and others, being unaffected or flexible in adverse situations, having a firm belief in taking control of his future, improving under pressure, and possessing superior mental skills ( [2,15,10,8,22,14] . Rebound Ability is the capacity of the mind to recover from difficulties, setbacks, and challenges experienced both before and during a performance. ...
... Mental toughness represents a multiple of positive psychological variables that help prevent the harmful effects of stress and enable individuals to perform consistently well, regardless of factors that occur under certain circumstances (Clough et al., 2002). In addition, several previous qualitative studies suggest that mentally strong athletes cope with adverse situations more effectively in comparison to less mentally strong athletes (Jones et al., 2007;Thelwell et al., 2005). In other words, it can be said that it reduces the risk of athletes getting burnout syndrome and naturally affects their mental well-being in a positive manner. ...
The aim of this study is to examine mediating role of athlete engagement and mental toughness in the relationship between burnout and mental well-being. Our theoretical model was tested using data collected from 251 university students (103 females and 148 males) in sports departments aged between 18 and 33 (Mean = 21.73 years, SD = 2.23). Participants completed the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ), the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWS), the Athlete Engagement Questionnaire (AEQ), and the Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire (SMTQ). As a result of multiply mediation analyses showed that a significant total direct effect of burnout on mental well-being, significant direct effect; and a significant indirect effect via athlete engagement, but not a significant indirect effect via mental toughness. Athlete engagement and mental toughness, in combination, did not multiple mediate the association between burnout and mental wellbeing. The possible explanations and future directions are discussed in the light of relevant literature.
... 연구를 통해 자신감이나 동기 등 심리기술의 보유 수준에 따라 정 신적 강인함을 설명하고자 하였으나 (Loehr, 1985(Loehr, , 1986, 구체적 인 개념적 준거를 제시하지 못한 한계점을 지닌다 (Crust, 2008 , 개인구성이론 (Kelly, 1991)을 근간으로 개인의 경험과 그 의미에 초점을 두는 귀납적 방식으로 정신적 강인함 을 개념화하였다 Jones et al., 2002Jones et al., , 2007 (Crust, 2008). 이에 따라 연구자들은 각 종목에서 요구 되는 정신적 강인함의 특성을 도출해 내었으며 (Chen et al., 2013;Gucciardi et al., 2008;Jaeschke et al., 2016;Thelwell, 2005), 이러한 노력은 축구 분야에서도 이루어졌다 (Gucciardi et al., 2008;Jang et al., 2020;Thelwell et al., 2005). 특히 (Gerber et al., 2018;Shaw et al., 2022). ...
... 연구를 통해 자신감이나 동기 등 심리기술의 보유 수준에 따라 정 신적 강인함을 설명하고자 하였으나 (Loehr, 1985(Loehr, , 1986, 구체적 인 개념적 준거를 제시하지 못한 한계점을 지닌다 (Crust, 2008 , 개인구성이론 (Kelly, 1991)을 근간으로 개인의 경험과 그 의미에 초점을 두는 귀납적 방식으로 정신적 강인함 을 개념화하였다 Jones et al., 2002Jones et al., , 2007 (Crust, 2008). 이에 따라 연구자들은 각 종목에서 요구 되는 정신적 강인함의 특성을 도출해 내었으며 (Chen et al., 2013;Gucciardi et al., 2008;Jaeschke et al., 2016;Thelwell, 2005), 이러한 노력은 축구 분야에서도 이루어졌다 (Gucciardi et al., 2008;Jang et al., 2020;Thelwell et al., 2005). 특히 (Gerber et al., 2018;Shaw et al., 2022). ...
PURPOSE This study comprehensively compared the perception and interaction of player–coach in the development of mental toughness in soccer.METHODS Data were collected through semi-structured individual interviews from 12 participants (6 athletes and 6 coaches), analyzed using the grounded theory by Strauss and Corbin, and they were compared to the group of athletes and coaches, respectively.RESULTS The following results were obtained: (1) Both athletes and coaches recognized that the experience of coping with the pressure present in competition was a central phenomenon in the development of mental toughness. (2) Regarding the situation and condition that lead to coping with pressure, the athletes emphasized the individual's goal orientation in the context of competitive situations and environmental conditions, while the coaches emphasized the athletic attitude toward competition and development in childhood. (3) The athlete–coach interaction was identified as an intervening condition affecting the experience of coping with pressure. (4) As the action–reaction strategy for the development of mental toughness, the optimistic thinking was emphasized for athlete and achievement-oriented thinking for coach; thus, it differed in the characteristics of mental toughness.CONCLUSIONS This study presented the results of an integrated comparison of mental toughness, which can vary depending on the contextual specificity (soccer) and the subject of perception (athlete– coach), especially indicating the importance of the player–coach interaction, which can contribute to the strategy to be used in mental toughness development.
... 6 Thelwell et al. (2005) "Mental toughness is having the natural or developed edge that enables you to: (i) Always, cope better than your opponents with the many demands (competition, training, lifestyle) that sport places on a performer; (ii) specifically, be more consistent and better than your opponents in remaining determined, focused, confident, and in control under pressure" 7 Gucciardi et al. (2008) "Mental toughness is a collection of values, attitudes, behaviours, and emotions that enable you to persevere and overcome any obstacle, adversity, or pressure experienced, but also to maintain concentration and motivation when things are going well to consistently achieve your goals" 8 Coulter et al. (2010) "Mental toughness is the presence of some or the entire collection of experientially developed and inherent values, attitudes, emotions, cognitions, and behaviours that influence the way in which an individual approaches, responds to, and appraises both negatively and positively construed pressures, challenges, and adversities to consistently achieve his or her goals" 18 Gucciardi (2017, p. 18) "A state-like psychological resource that is purposeful, flexible, and efficient in nature for the enactment and maintenance of goal-directed pursuits" Exploring mental toughness among employees changing situations". The factors retrieved in the meta-ethnography became the basis of scale development and testing. ...
Purpose
Time and again, scholars have emphasized the vitality of mental toughness for success in performance-oriented contexts. Despite the awareness about the significance of mental toughness, there is ambiguity in the conceptual consensus of the factors that comprise of the construct in an organizational setup. Second, there is a dearth of a psychometrically sound measure that assesses mental toughness among employees.
Design/methodology/approach
The study follows a multi-method approach to develop a mental toughness questionnaire. First, to arrive at a consensus of the factors that construe mental toughness, a meta-ethnography was done. Subsequently, a measure of mental toughness was developed and tested following scale development norms.
Findings
Drawing from the results of qualitative inquiry, four factors of mental toughness were derived, namely, perseverance, control, challenge and commitment. Then, the scale development process was followed. Results of psychometric testing using three samples were above the acceptable range, justifying the use of developed scale for academic and professional purposes.
Originality/value
This study is a novel attempt in the literature to extract factors of mental toughness through meta-ethnography and consequently develop a scale.
... Scholars have affirmed that mental toughness is one of the most important psychological characteristics related to successful outcomes in elite sport (McGeown et al., 2015). Previous studies have also shown that mental toughness varies based on the athletes' age, gender, the type of sport, and playing experience (Connaughton et al., 2010;Cowden and Meyer-Weitz, 2016;Gerber et al., 2012;Thelwell et al., 2005). Mental toughness is also related to other psychological constructs like self-concept, mental imagery, and team cohesion, which are important with respect to positive outcomes in the sports field (Clough et al., 2002;Crust et al., 2014;Levy et al., 2006;Meggs et al., 2014). ...
... The environment has also been said to play an important role in the development of the attributes related to mental toughness. Motivational climate, parental influence, upbringing, and exposure to tough (competitive) environments are important ingredients in the development of mental toughness (Bull et al., 2005;Thelwell et al., (2005). Thelwell et al. (2005) found that elite soccer players believed varying environments and experiences during their formative years contributed to their development of mental toughness. ...
... Motivational climate, parental influence, upbringing, and exposure to tough (competitive) environments are important ingredients in the development of mental toughness (Bull et al., 2005;Thelwell et al., (2005). Thelwell et al. (2005) found that elite soccer players believed varying environments and experiences during their formative years contributed to their development of mental toughness. ...
Mental toughness is a psychological construct related to successful performance in academics, management, and sports among other sectors. However, studies on the determinants of mental toughness with respect to different human endeavours have remained inconclusive. This study explored mental toughness characteristics of male university athletes in selected sports in relation to contextual factors of athletes’ age, playing experience, year of study, and the type of sport. The Mental Toughness Questionnaire (MTQ48) was used to collect data from male university athletes (n = 140). Results of this study showed significant difference in the following components of MT: lower scores in challenge (p = .015), emotional control (p = .005), and life control (p = .002) among athletes with shorter playing experience, and higher scores in life control (p < .001), emotional control (p = .021), and confidence in abilities (p = .009) in handball as compared to soccer players. Soccer players had significantly higher scores in the challenge component (p = .038) of mental toughness as compared to handball players. It was concluded that playing experience and the type of sport influenced characteristics of mental toughness among university athletes. Coaches, trainers, and sports psychologists need to consider these contextual factors to optimize mental toughness of athletes. Future studies should explore how specific contextual factors influence training environments and outcomes, as well as how stakeholders can leverage on the relationships between playing experience, the type of sport and mental toughness to augment athletes’ mental toughness and sports performance.
... However, even if all respondents expressed that despair, shame, and an acceptance of defeat were soon-to-be a reality, there was still an attitude in the team that they had to fight to the end of the match, at least to prevent an even more humiliating result and to maintain their self-respect. This "fight to the end" attitude at the individual level demonstrates the attributes of mental toughness which is reported in elite athletes (Thelwell et al., 2005;Danielsen et al., 2017). At the team level, it may be a characteristic of a resilient sports team. ...
The current case study focused on a crucial match in the qualification for the Norwegian Premier League (Eliteserien). In the match, the participants of the study experienced a radical change in performance toward the end of the second half, from being behind by several goals to scoring 3 goals in 6 min and winning the qualifying game. The purpose of this study was therefore to examine the perceptions and reflections of players and coaches (sporting director) on what occurred within their own team and within the opposing team. The momentum shift in the opposition team can be described as a collective collapse. In the study, the theoretical collective collapse process model was used as a guide for the design of the interview questions where five semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants involved in the match (players, coach, and sporting director). The participants watched excerpt clips from the match to recall the main events, which they subsequently reflected on. The results highlighted the importance of the "before-game" aspects (i.e., pressure, first game result), the "during-the-game" behavior (i.e., goals scored, playing with a low degree of risk) and the cognitive (i.e., feelings of pressure, despair) and emotional reactions (i.e., frustration, joy) to the match unfolding. In addition, social contagion processes were evident in both teams relating to emotion and behavior. Overall, the data from this study investigated the general structure of the process model of collective sport team collapse and found support for the notion of a temporal cascade of causes for a team collapse. Future research is encouraged to examine this model, to provide guidance to teams, coaches, and sport psychologists in order to make recommendations for dealing with collective collapse in sport teams.
... Estos resultados están en la línea de la literatura que señala relaciones negativas entre dureza mental y las experiencias de ansiedad en deportistas, demostrando que los deportistas que puntúan alto en las características de dureza mental también tienden a reportar bajos niveles de ansiedad en la competición La asociación positiva encontrada entre la dureza mental y la sensibilidad a la ansiedad es coherente con las definiciones conceptuales de la dureza mental, que afirman que una característica esencial de los deportistas mentalmente fuertes es su capacidad para manejar las emociones desagradables, como la ansiedad de la competición (Thelwell et al., 2005). ...
Video game overuse and addiction among athletes is a recent and growing concern. Anxiety sensitivity is a risk factor
for addictive behaviors, just as mental toughness, widely associated with athletes, is a protective element. The present
study examines the relationships between anxiety sensitivity, mental toughness and video game addiction in this
context. The sample was composed of athletes (n = 98) aged 19-51 years (M age = 23.94; SD = 7.72) of whom 64
were male and 34 females. Applying descriptive instruments on anxiety sensitivity, mental toughness and video game
addiction and dependence, the results indicated that an increase in physical or social anxiety sensitivity correlated
with a decrease in mental toughness that in turn was associated with an increase in video game tolerance. Sensitivity
to social and physical anxiety had indirect effects on video game abuse and tolerance through mental toughness in
athletes. The results are discussed around the role of mental toughness in understanding video game addiction
problems in athletes.
... 1 23-25 Athletes are in general also characterised by positive attributes like resilience and well-being that may facilitate self-care and protect against an inner or external drive to undereat. [26][27][28][29][30][31] Whether such attributes may lower the risk of LEA and RED-S remains uninvestigated. ...
... For all studies (1-4), female players (age [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] are recruited from four high-level female football clubs, competing in the Norwegian first or second division. The four included teams are located in Bergen, the largest city in the Western region of Norway. ...
Enduring low energy availability (LEA) is associated with several potentially serious physiological and mental conditions. LEA has been found highly prevalent among female elite athletes within endurance sports, thus hampering athletes’ health and performance. The prevalence and the underpinning risk factors of LEA among female elite football players are less studied. One reason is that the existing self-report measures and technological devices to monitor energy intake and expenditure are inadequately adapted to capture the nature of the physical activity and energy expenditure among football players and are thus inaccurate.
The present paper outlines a study protocol addressing the prevalence of LEA, the measurement of LEA and the correlations of LEA in terms of health and performance in female football players. Four studies will be conducted with the following aims (1) to evaluate the accuracy of global positioning systems (GPS)-based devices to monitor energy expenditure with indirect calorimetry as the gold standard, (2) to assess energy intake, quantify energy expenditure and investigate energy availability through self-report instruments, double labelled water (DLW) and GPS monitoring devices, (3) to determine the point prevalence of LEA using self-report instruments, DLW, dual-X-ray-absorptiometry (DXA) to quantify muscle and bone mass distribution and density, and a battery of hormonal analyses, and (4) to explore whether the prevalence of LEA varies across a full football season. Measures covering mental symptoms and psychological resources will be included, and a selection of biological measures derived from study 3.
Measurements of DXA and DLW are resource-demanding and will be collected from one professional club (N~20 women). In contrast, the remaining data will be collected from four professional clubs (N~60 women) located in Bergen, the largest city within the Western region of Norway. Overall procedures and biobank storage procedures have been approved for data collection that will end in December 2024.
