Mental toughness : state or trait? Context and sporting performance in rugby union, a longitudinal study

Abstract

Mental toughness is a concept that has been considered a critical feature of sporting success. However, there are still conceptual issues related to its traitness and its relationship with sporting performance that remain unresolved. Consequently, the objective of this research is to contrast empirically whether the eventual changes in MT and its relationships with competition phases and sporting performance can sustain the notion of MT as a state or a trait. A longitudinal study included 12 male Chilean rugby players, aged 18-33 years, which regularly competed at the highest national level. The results indicated that there are no significant differences in mental toughness between the four measurements taken in the study and that the competitive phase did not predict mental toughness properties enduring across contexts and time. In addition, the data showed that mental toughness is an important predictor of relevant behavioural variables and sporting performance.

Mental toughness is a concept that has been considered a critical feature of sporting success. However, there are still con-ceptual issues related to its traitness and its relationship with sporting performance that remain unresolved. Consequently, the objective of this research is to contrast empirically whether the eventual changes in MT and its relationships with competition phases and sporting performance can sustain the notion of MT as a state or a trait. A longitudinal study included 12 male Chilean rugby players, aged 18-33 years, which regularly competed at the highest national level. The results indicated that there are no significant differences in mental toughness between the four measurements taken in the study and that the competitive phase did not predict mental toughness properties enduring across contexts and time. In addition, the data showed that mental toughness is an important predictor of relevant behavioural variables and sporting performance.