Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1955. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 317-335).

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Major challenges facing sport psychology researchers, practitioners, coaches, and athletes include understanding mental toughness and knowing how to train for it. Athletes and coaches have long identified mental toughness as an important attribute for performance. Practitioners have devised training approaches for mental toughness—often based on anecdotal notions of what mental toughness is and how it should be developed. The research available on mental toughness is scarce, with only a few recent but limited advances. Fundamental to the challenge of understanding and training mental toughness, there is a critical need for research to develop a model of mental toughness that is not based on anecdote, but rather on sound research methods and theoretical underpinnings. Following on from conceptualisation, there is a need to develop an instrument to measure mental toughness. Taken together, a conceptual model and a measurement approach are the tools needed by researchers to develop and test mental toughness training programs. The purpose of this thesis was to address some of these issues by capitalising on the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative methods to: (a) critically examine a popular test of mental toughness; (b) determine specific characteristics of mental toughness and understand the interrelationship between those characteristics; (c) develop a model of mental toughness that draws together specific characteristics; (d) produce a mental toughness definition; (e) develop the Mental Toughness Inventory, a robust and valid instrument that demonstrates a sound factor structure, strong reliabilities, and invariance across gender, age, and level of competition (i.e., demonstrating within-network validity); and (f) determine the relative congruence between scores on the Mental Toughness Inventory and theoretically related constructs (i.e., demonstrating between-network validity). In line with these aims, Study 1 evaluated the psychometric properties of an existing, popular, and yet unsubstantiated test of mental toughness—the Psychological Performance Inventory (PPI). Given the breadth and depth of mental toughness as evidenced by the literature, the PPI was not expected to provide a reasonable model. Instead, the study was intended to inform the researcher on the psychometric strengths of the PPI and guide the development of a new measure of mental toughness throughout the remainder of the thesis. The PPI was examined using both within-network and between-network validity checks and responses from 263 student-athletes in Years 7–12 (12 to 19 years of age). Study 2 was a qualitative study that examined the interview data of over 30 elite sportspeople to determine the characteristics of mental toughness. The purpose of this study was to develop a conceptual model and definition of mental toughness that draws together all the characteristics in a way that adds meaning and clarity to the concept. The purpose of Studies 3 and 4 was to construct, refine, and validate the Mental Toughness Inventory (MTI)—a measure of mental toughness emanating from the findings of Studies 1 and 2. Studies 3 and 4 critically examined the construct validity of the MTI using both within-network and between-network validation on the basis of responses from institution-based athletes (from sports programs such as those run by the Australian Institute of Sport) and school-based athletes (from a selective sports high school). Furthermore, Studies 3 and 4 provided the scope to examine invariance of the mental toughness factor structure across groups, group mean-level differences, and interaction effects. The results of Study 1 provided a number of insights into the status of the PPI, raised an interesting conundrum regarding the interface between conceptualisation and instrumentation, and provided guidance for instrument development that would become the empirical basis of subsequent quantitative studies. The qualitative results of Study 2 unearthed a multidimensional model of mental toughness, containing 12 first-order factors each of which contribute to a higher order (or Global) mental toughness factor. The 12 mental toughness characteristics identified are: self-efficacy, potential, mental self-concept, value, personal bests, commitment, stress minimisation, perseverance, positive comparisons, positivity, task familiarity, and task focus. Study 3 involved the construction of the Mental Toughness Inventory (MTI), with results revealing excellent validity from a within-network perspective (including confirmatory factor analysis, goodness of fit, internal reliability, and invariance across groups). Study 4 results revealed that MTI factors correlated more strongly with theoretically-related concepts and less strongly with unrelated concepts—thus demonstrating between-network validity (convergent and discriminant). Study 4 also revealed a number of significant main effects of age (favouring older athletes), gender (favouring male athletes) and group (a contextual effect where institution-based athletes rate themselves more ―rigorously relative to strong contextual effects, which need to be carefully considered when assessing and developing mental toughness. For sporting organisations, this research points to a number of things that can be done at an institutional level—particularly in relation to creating an environment that is most likely to facilitate the positive development of various components of mental toughness. Finally, for research and continued theorising about mental toughness, the findings from this thesis support viewing mental toughness as a combination of cognitive, behavioural, and emotive processes that work together in combating adversity or pressure. Taken together, the conceptualising and empirical works conducted in this study are proposed to advance the field of research—creating opportunities to study the effectiveness of interventions designed to enhance mental toughness. Furthermore, the results provide practitioners, coaches, and athletes with a concrete understanding of mental toughness such that they are better equipped to devise training approaches and to handle pressure and adversity en route to athletic success. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Robert Birnbaum. Dissertation Committee: Richard Anderson, . Bibliography: leaves 206-213.

The professional turn in sports has prompted the search for explanations beyond the physical when discussing quality of performance. Mental Toughness has been recognised as one of the most important psychological attributes in achieving performance excellence across multiple sport settings. Yet, despite this, little research has been conducted into mental toughness development. This research seeks to answer the question: What insights can the development and implementation of a mental toughness programme for a semi-professional South African cricket team provide regarding Mental Toughness development? Based on a theoretical framework of mental toughness in cricket, a programme was developed in collaboration with the Border Cricket Team and Coaches. Incorporating elements that focussed on education, environment, awareness and mental skills, the programme was implemented in both individual and group settings during the off- and pre-seasons. An analysis of the participants’ experiences identified the need for a theoretical understanding of mental toughness within teams, facilitating the design of interventions that integrate the team and the individual. Future programmes should include measures of mastery, and individually customised approaches to mental toughness enhancement that acknowledge the potential contextual and individual variation in mental toughness.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Sydney, 2007. / A thesis submitted to the University of Western Sydney, School of Psychology, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology). Includes bibliography.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a psycho-educational intervention program could support traumatised people to increase their mental toughness. Mental toughness is a well proven phenomenon in sports psychology as well as in leadership in the corporate world. I wanted to apply the use of mental toughness in trauma. Literature was consulted to understand the phenomena of mental toughness and trauma respectively. The corresponding aspects of mental toughness and trauma were selected for the literature review and many similarities between mental toughness and trauma were discovered. The corresponding aspects included action taking, the importance of the “self”, facing negativity and adversity, the importance of support systems, flexibility and adjustment, dealing with guilt and self-blame, the role of self-talk, people’s perceptions, goal-setting, commitment, helplessness / learned helplessness and dealing with stress. I used the corresponding aspects to compile a psycho-educational intervention programme to support traumatised persons to develop increased mental toughness that will support them to better deal with trauma. A valid and reliable psychometric instrument, the MTQ48 (Mental Toughness Questionnaire 48), has been successfully used to determine people’s mental toughness in sports psychology and in corporate management, but has never been tested before in supporting traumatised people. An action research design was employed, where both qualitative as well as quantitative methods were used. This is also known as a mixed research design. Eight traumatised people took part in the research which was presented weekly, as individual sessions, over eight weeks. Data collection methods included questionnaires, observation and individual therapy. The results of the study indicated that seven of the eight participants’ overall mental toughness increased after the intervention program, and four of the eight participants’ mental toughness components increased. As an additional benefit, all respondents indicated that they could better deal and cope with their trauma after the intervention program. The conclusion could be drawn that the psycho-educational intervention program was successful in supporting the traumatised participants to increase their mental toughness. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a psycho-educational intervention program could support traumatised people to increase their mental toughness. Mental toughness is a well proven phenomenon in sports psychology as well as in leadership in the corporate world. I wanted to apply the use of mental toughness in trauma. Literature was consulted to understand the phenomena of mental toughness and trauma respectively. The corresponding aspects of mental toughness and trauma were selected for the literature review and many similarities between mental toughness and trauma were discovered. The corresponding aspects included action taking, the importance of the “self”, facing negativity and adversity, the importance of support systems, flexibility and adjustment, dealing with guilt and self-blame, the role of self-talk, people’s perceptions, goal-setting, commitment, helplessness / learned helplessness and dealing with stress. I used the corresponding aspects to compile a psycho-educational intervention programme to support traumatised persons to develop increased mental toughness that will support them to better deal with trauma. A valid and reliable psychometric instrument, the MTQ48 (Mental Toughness Questionnaire 48), has been successfully used to determine people’s mental toughness in sports psychology and in corporate management, but has never been tested before in supporting traumatised people. An action research design was employed, where both qualitative as well as quantitative methods were used. This is also known as a mixed research design. Eight traumatised people took part in the research which was presented weekly, as individual sessions, over eight weeks. Data collection methods included questionnaires, observation and individual therapy. The results of the study indicated that seven of the eight participants’ overall mental toughness increased after the intervention program, and four of the eight participants’ mental toughness components increased. As an additional benefit, all respondents indicated that they could better deal and cope with their trauma after the intervention program. The conclusion could be drawn that the psycho-educational intervention program was successful in supporting the traumatised participants to increase their mental toughness. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Modern research being conducted on Mental Toughness is now shifting away from efforts aimed at developing definitions for the construct and instead moving toward efforts at understanding its development. This particular research study focuses on the development and implementation of a Mental Toughness programme designed specifically for, and tailored exclusively to, the needs of schoolboy cricket at Kingswood College in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape. The programme development was an intricate process and the research procedure was guided by the Organisational Development Process model. Data from a focus group as well as various individual interviews were integrated with currently existing Mental Toughness literature and theory to devise this particular Mental Toughness programme. The programme entails educating the athletes on six specific mental skills and incorporates elements of practical application as well as awareness of the importance and influence of Mental Toughness and mental training in a sporting sphere. The programme took the form of mental skills workshops held over a three week period. An analysis was conducted post-programme to document the experience of the athletes as a result of exposure to the programme. Results drawn from the array of analysis procedures were used to help identify the level of success of the Mental Toughness intervention as well as help validify current Mental Toughness models. In addition to highlighting the benefits as a result of the programme experience, various recommendations were drawn in order to shed light on the programme limitations and assist future researchers with understanding the intricacies behind better and more efficient programme implementation.