A critical consideration of mental toughness in a non-specialised healthy population

Mental toughness has been well researched within the athletic scientific literature and interest in mental toughness has grown as a marker of academic success within higher education. The aim of this thesis is to examine mental toughness within a non-specialised healthy population of undergraduate students, looking at its relationship with measures of endurance. The thesis examines differences in psychological profile based on mental toughness levels. Finally, the thesis seeks to train mental toughness with resilience-based training methods and also examines the validity and reliability of the MT48 scale. In a systematic series of studies, mental toughness is critically considered within a healthy non-specialised population. Mental toughness originated within a sports population as a stress resilience concept. Mental toughness has largely been associated with greater endurance within sports, and this finding is extended upon within the thesis (Ch. 5-6). The thesis finds that those who were high in mental toughness displayed better endurance to the cold pressor task used as a challenging task for participants (Ch. 5-6). Better endurance was typically evidenced in greater immersion times and reduced ratings of post-CPT pain on the task. Furthermore, mental toughness was found to be related to coping style (Ch. 6), specifically those who are higher in mental toughness are more likely to use adaptive coping strategies, specifically rational and problem-focused methods. Those low in mental toughness used maladaptive coping strategies, specifically emotional and avoidant coping methods. These findings further extend previous literature findings beyond sporting populations, demonstrating the importance of mental toughness to successfully coping with stressors. Within existing literature mental toughness has been identified as an umbrella concept that incorporates many dimensions of positive psychological traits including resilience and optimism (Ch. 3, 5-6). This research identified that increased mental toughness was associated with greater levels of optimism. Previous literature has trained mental toughness using psychological skills training programmes (Ch. 3), with findings showing that training has a positive impact on mental toughness levels. Within the thesis, mental toughness was tested using brief resilience training with results identifying a positive impact of attending training on mental toughness generally, with significant results being obtained for total mental toughness, challenge and control subscales (Ch. 3). These findings highlight the ability to train mental toughness using a resilience training programme within a non-specialised healthy population. These findings demonstrate that mental toughness can be trained within wider populations and demonstrates the importance of considering mental toughness in interventions targeted at improving coping with stress or adversity. Existing research has identified many psychometric measures to assess mental toughness level (Ch. 3), many of which are sports-specific. Throughout the thesis, the MT48 scale is used to measure mental toughness, as it was recognised as the scale that can be used within general populations (Ch. 4). Throughout the literature there has been debate over its internal reliability and validity. Given its use throughout the thesis to assess mental toughness level, it was necessary to examine its reliability. Findings from the study identified that the total scale had good internal reliability (α=0.87), however examination of the individual subscales identified issues with the control subscale specifically and modification could not rise to required thresholds to be considered to have good internal reliability. Furthermore, the scale demonstrated questionable test-retest reliability, however it did show good convergent reliability with optimism. Based on these findings, the thesis recommends further examination in future studies beyond this thesis. Overall, the thesis finds that mental toughness can be extended beyond sporting populations. It has been found to be critical to coping with challenging and stressful situations or tasks within non-specialised healthy populations. Furthermore, mental toughness levels are found to determine coping specifically in those who are higher in mental toughness, who are more likely to engage in adaptive coping strategies. The thesis has also identified the ability to train mental toughness using a brief resilience training programme, which identifies the importance of considering mental toughness when developing interventions targeted at improving stress resilience. While some issues are identified with the internal reliability of the MT48, in particular in regard to the control subscale and test re-test reliability, the findings demonstrate the importance of mental toughness in coping at critical points for a non-specialised healthy population and extend previous research in new directions.