The purpose of this study was to examine mental toughness, deliberate relaxation (including muscle relaxation, autogenic relaxation, deep breathing, eastern relaxation, stretching, meditation, and imagery), sleep and the relationship between these constructs in athletes at various skill levels. A previous study showed a strong positive correlation between mental toughness and relaxation, one of many psychological skills (Crust & Azadi, 2009). It was hypothesized that there would be a positive relationship between mental toughness, engagement in relaxation activities, and the amount of sleep athletes get during a typical current training week. Fifty-five athletes were recruited for each of the following groups: recreational, college, and professional (total n = 165). Participants were asked to complete a Mental Toughness Questionnaire 48 (MTQ48; Clough, Earle, & Sewell, 2002) and a Deliberate Relaxation for Sport Survey created for the purpose of the study. The results partially supported the hypothesis as athletes at a higher skill level scored higher on the MTQ48, engaged in more relaxation activities, and got more sleep than athletes at lower skill levels. Future research using experimental design is necessary to examine the relationships in more detail. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of
Science. / Spring Semester, 2011. / March 21, 2011. / Relaxation, Skill Level, Sleep, Mental Toughness, Deliberate Practice / Includes bibliographical references. / David Eccles, Professor Directing Thesis; Gershon Tenenbaum, Committee Member; Beth Phillips, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_181168 |
| Contributors | Kudlackova, Katerina (authoraut), Eccles, David (professor directing thesis), Tenenbaum, Gershon (committee member), Phillips, Beth (committee member), Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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