Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Apr 11;14(4):314.
doi: 10.3390/bs14040314.

Development of Mental Toughness among Basketball Sports School Students

Eimantas Pocius  1 , Romualdas Malinauskas  1
Affiliations

Development of Mental Toughness among Basketball Sports School Students

Eimantas Pocius et al. Behav Sci (Basel). .

Abstract

The development of mental toughness in student athletes within sports schools is crucial for identifying strengths and improving weaknesses to optimize performance. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a mental toughness development program for basketball sports school students. Sixty-two male student athletes, aged 15.83 ± 0.37 years, participated, with 30 in the experimental group and 32 in the control group. They completed the Mental Toughness Questionnaire 48 (MTQ48) before and after the 6-week intervention program. Pearson's correlations were calculated for study variables. A repeated measures MANOVA followed by one-way ANOVA analyzed differences in mental toughness skills between groups and over time. Results showed a significant effect of the intervention program on mental toughness skills, with small and medium effect sizes. Post-program, the experimental group exhibited higher levels of various skills compared to controls, including skills related to challenge, commitment, emotional control, life control, overall control, self-confidence in interpersonal interactions, self-confidence in one's abilities, overall self-confidence, and total MTQ48. These findings underscore the utility of interventions for enhancing mental toughness among basketball sports school students, emphasizing the importance of tailored approaches in such intervention programs.

Keywords: intervention program; mental toughness skills; sport school; student athletes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Gucciardi D.F., Hanton S., Gordon S., Mallett C.J., Temby P. The concept of mental toughness: Tests of dimensionality, nomological network, and traitness. J. Pers. 2015;83:26–44. doi: 10.1111/jopy.12079. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kuan G., Roy J. Goal profiles, mental toughness and its influence on performance outcomes among Wushu athletes. J. Sports Sci. Med. 2007;6:28–33. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nicholls A., Levy A., Polman R., Crust L. Mental toughness, coping self-efficacy, and coping effectiveness among athletes. Int. J. Sport Psychol. 2011;42:513–524.
    1. Crust L., Clough P.J. Relationship between mental toughness and physical endurance. Percept. Mot. Skills. 2005;100:192–194. doi: 10.2466/pms.100.1.192-194. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gucciardi D.F., Gordon S., Dimmock J. Advancing mental toughness research and theory using personal construct psychology. Int. Rev. Sport. Exerc. Psychol. 2009;2:54–72. doi: 10.1080/17509840802705938. - DOI

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.

LinkOut - more resources