When the going gets tough: Mental toughness and its relationship with behavioural perseverance

© 2014 Sports Medicine Australia. Objectives: This study examined the association between self-reported mental toughness and behavioural perseverance among a sample of male Australian footballers in a naturalistic context. DesignCross-sectional field study, with the multistage 20 m shuttle run test...

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Main Authors: Gucciardi, Daniel, Peeling, P., Ducker, Kagan, Dawson, B.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/17738
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author Gucciardi, Daniel
Peeling, P.
Ducker, Kagan
Dawson, B.
author_facet Gucciardi, Daniel
Peeling, P.
Ducker, Kagan
Dawson, B.
author_sort Gucciardi, Daniel
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2014 Sports Medicine Australia. Objectives: This study examined the association between self-reported mental toughness and behavioural perseverance among a sample of male Australian footballers in a naturalistic context. DesignCross-sectional field study, with the multistage 20 m shuttle run test (MST) employed as a proxy for behavioural perseverance. Methods: 330 male Australian footballers aged between 15 and 18 years (M=16.86; SD=.71) with between 2 and 14 years playing experience (M=9.32; SD=2.51) participated. Initially, footballers completed a mental toughness questionnaire, before having their height and body mass measurements taken. Subsequently, a performance testing session was completed, which included the 20 m sprint, Australian football-specific agility run, vertical jump, and the MST. Bayesian estimation was employed to allow for the simultaneous examination of existing findings with our new data in a way that provides an automatic meta-analysis of evidence in this area. Results: The analysis indicated a 95% probability that the association between mental toughness and behavioural perseverance lies between .14 and .34, even when controlling for other factors known to influence MST performance, including age, height, body mass, and years playing experience. Conclusions: Taken together with previous research, these findings support the theoretical proposition that persistence, effort or perseverance represents a behavioural signature of mental toughness.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-177382017-09-13T13:36:43Z When the going gets tough: Mental toughness and its relationship with behavioural perseverance Gucciardi, Daniel Peeling, P. Ducker, Kagan Dawson, B. © 2014 Sports Medicine Australia. Objectives: This study examined the association between self-reported mental toughness and behavioural perseverance among a sample of male Australian footballers in a naturalistic context. DesignCross-sectional field study, with the multistage 20 m shuttle run test (MST) employed as a proxy for behavioural perseverance. Methods: 330 male Australian footballers aged between 15 and 18 years (M=16.86; SD=.71) with between 2 and 14 years playing experience (M=9.32; SD=2.51) participated. Initially, footballers completed a mental toughness questionnaire, before having their height and body mass measurements taken. Subsequently, a performance testing session was completed, which included the 20 m sprint, Australian football-specific agility run, vertical jump, and the MST. Bayesian estimation was employed to allow for the simultaneous examination of existing findings with our new data in a way that provides an automatic meta-analysis of evidence in this area. Results: The analysis indicated a 95% probability that the association between mental toughness and behavioural perseverance lies between .14 and .34, even when controlling for other factors known to influence MST performance, including age, height, body mass, and years playing experience. Conclusions: Taken together with previous research, these findings support the theoretical proposition that persistence, effort or perseverance represents a behavioural signature of mental toughness. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/17738 10.1016/j.jsams.2014.12.005 restricted
spellingShingle Gucciardi, Daniel
Peeling, P.
Ducker, Kagan
Dawson, B.
When the going gets tough: Mental toughness and its relationship with behavioural perseverance
title When the going gets tough: Mental toughness and its relationship with behavioural perseverance
title_full When the going gets tough: Mental toughness and its relationship with behavioural perseverance
title_fullStr When the going gets tough: Mental toughness and its relationship with behavioural perseverance
title_full_unstemmed When the going gets tough: Mental toughness and its relationship with behavioural perseverance
title_short When the going gets tough: Mental toughness and its relationship with behavioural perseverance
title_sort when the going gets tough: mental toughness and its relationship with behavioural perseverance
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/17738