John L. Perry

Are Adolescents With High Mental Toughness Levels More Resilient Against Stress

Mental toughness has been explored predominantly within sport contexts. Nevertheless, it is difficult to conceive mental toughness as only applicable to athletes. This study examines whether mentally tough participants exhibit resilience against stress. This is a cross-sectional study based on two different samples: Sample 1 consisted of 284 high school students (99 males, 185 females, M = 18.3 years). Sample 2 consisted of 140 first through fifth semester undergraduate students (53 males, 87 females, M = 20.0 years). Participants provided information about their level of perceived stress (10-item Perceived Stress Scale), mental toughness (48-item Mental Toughness Questionnaire) and depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory). Consistent across the two samples, mental toughness mitigated the relationship between high stress and depressive symptoms. The interaction between stress and mental toughness explained 2% of variance in the adolescent sample and 10% of variance among young adults. The promotion of protective factors that foster resilient adaptation is a relevant issue. Mental toughness may appeal to individuals that are typically difficult to be reached with health interventions. Because mental toughness is part of young peoples daily speech, it may serve as a less academic resource than other health psychology concepts.

Assessing Model Fit: Caveats and Recommendations for Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling

Despite the limitations of overgeneralizing cutoff values for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; e.g., Marsh, Hau, & Wen, 2004), they are still often employed as golden rules for assessing factorial validity in sport and exercise psychology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the appropriateness of using the CFA approach with these cutoff values for typical multidimensional measures. Furthermore, we ought to examine how a model could be respecified to achieve acceptable fit and explored whether exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) provides a more appropriate assessment of model fit. Six multidimensional measures commonly used in sport and exercise psychology research were examined using CFA and ESEM. Despite demonstrating good validity in previous research, all eight failed to meet the cutoff values proposed by Hu and Bentler. ESEM improved model fit in all measures. In conclusion, we suggest that model misfit in this study demonstrates the problem with interpreting cutoff values rigidly. Furthermore, we recommend ESEM as a preferred approach to examining model fit in multidimensional measures.

Mental toughness in education: exploring relationships with attainment, attendance, behaviour and peer relationships

Mental toughness has frequently been associated with successful performance in sport; however, recent research suggests that it may also be related to academic performance in Higher Education. In a series of three exploratory studies, we examined the relationship between mental toughness and different aspects of educational performance in adolescents aged 11–16, focusing on academic attainment, school attendance, classroom behaviour and peer relationships. Study 1 revealed significant associations between several aspects of mental toughness (but particularly control of life) and academic attainment and attendance. Study 2 revealed significant associations between several aspects of mental toughness (but again particularly control of life) and counterproductive classroom behaviour. Finally, Study 3 demonstrated significant associations between aspects of mental toughness (confidence in abilities and interpersonal confidence) and peer relationships. The results are discussed in terms of the potential value of mental toughness as a useful concept in education.

Precompetitive Achievement Goals, Stress Appraisals, Emotions, and Coping Among Athletes

Grounded in Lazaruss (1991, 1999, 2000) cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotions, we tested a model of achievement goals, stress appraisals, emotions, and coping. We predicted that precompetitive achievement goals would be associated with appraisals, appraisals with emotions, and emotions with coping in our model. The mediating effects of emotions among the overall sample of 827 athletes and two stratified random subsamples were also explored. The results of this study support our proposed model in the overall sample and the stratified subsamples. Further, emotion mediated the relationship between appraisal and coping. Mediation analyses revealed that there were indirect effects of pleasant and unpleasant emotions, which indicates the importance of examining multiple emotions to reveal a more accurate representation of the overall stress process. Our findings indicate that both appraisals and emotions are just as important in shaping coping.

The development of a new sport-specific classification of coping and a meta-analysis of the relationship between different coping strategies and moderators on sporting outcomes

There is an ever growing coping and sports performance literature, with researchers using many different methods to assess performance and different classifications of coping. As such, it makes it difficult to compare studies and therefore identify how coping is related to performance. Furthermore, there are no quantitative syntheses of the results from these studies. A quantitative synthesis would facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of how coping is associated with athletic performance. In order to accurately compare studies, our first aim was to develop a new coping classification that would make this possible. Firstly, we reviewed the strengths and limitations of the different coping classifications and then identified the commonalities and differences between such classifications. We opted for a three-factor classification of coping, because the evidence suggests that a three-factor classification provides a superior model fit to two-factor approaches. Our new classification of coping was based on an existing model from the developmental literature, which received an excellent model fit. We made some adaptations, however, as our classification was intended for an athletic population. As such, we classified coping as mastery (i.e., controlling the situation and eliminating the stressor), internal regulation (i.e., managing internal stress responses), or goal withdrawal (i.e., ceasing efforts toward goal attainment). Undertaking a meta-analysis, our second aim was to identify which coping strategies correlated with sports performance and whether this relationship varied according to moderator variables. Articles were sourced from online electronic databases and manual journal searches. PRISMA guidelines were used to search, select, and synthesize relevant studies. Random effects meta-analyses were performed to identify associations between coping classification and sport performance. Q, I2, and R2 values assessed heterogeneity. Eighteen published investigations, including 3900 participants and incorporating fifty-nine correlations, indicated an overall positive effect for mastery coping, a negligible negative effect for internal regulation coping, and a negative effect for goal withdrawal strategies. The findings of this meta-analysis could be used by sports practitioners to help them deliver effective coping interventions. In order to maximize performance, practitioners could encourage the use of mastery coping, but advise their athletes not to use goal withdrawal strategies.

A Theoretical Approach to Resolving the Psychometric Problems Associated With the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory

The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI; Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999) assesses five time-related constructs – Past Negative (PN), Past Positive (PP), Present Fatalistic (PF), Present Hedonistic (PF), and Future (F) – and is one of the most frequently used time measures in the extant literature. Versions of the ZTPI have been translated into a variety of languages, but the psychometric support for ZTPI scores remains contested. We examined the internal consistency, structural validity, and convergent validity of scores on a version of the ZTPI that consisted only of items that specifically referenced time constructs, the ZTPI-TP. Participants consisted of five samples of adolescents and adults from four countries: Australia (653 adults), Slovenia (425 adolescents and adults), the United Kingdom (913 adolescents; 455 adults), and the United States (815 adolescents). Structural validity analyses provided stronger support for ZTPI-TP scores than for ZTPI scores, and convergent validity evidence also provided support for ZTPI-TP scores. However, analyses revealed that the PF and PH factors were still problematic, especially with regard to factor coefficients and internal consistency estimates. We concluded that the ZTPI-TP can form the basis for a more robust version of the ZTPI.

Committed relationships and enhanced threat levels: Perceptions of coach behavior, the coach–athlete relationship, stress appraisals, and coping among athletes

The purpose of this study was to assess an a priori model that included perceptions of coach behavior, coach–athlete relationship, stress appraisals, and coping. A total of 274 athletes from the United Kingdom, Austalia, and Hong Kong completed relevant measures that assessed each construct. Our results revealed that perceptions of coach behavior were associated with aspects of the coach–athlete relationship and stress appraisals. In particular, closeness was positively associated with challenge appraisals and negatively with threat appraisals. However, commitment was positively associated with threat, indicating that there might be some negative implications of having a highly committed coach–athlete relationship. Further, commitment was also positively associated with disengagement-oriented coping, which has previously been linked to poor performance and lower goal-attainment. Applied practitioners could monitor athlete’s perceptions of the coach–athlete relationship, particularly commitment levels, and provide training in appraising stress and coping to those who also score highly on threat and disengagement-oriented coping, but low on task-oriented coping.

What time is it? Temporal psychology measures relate differently to alcohol-related health outcomes

Abstract Background: Scores on temporal psychology measures continue to be associated with alcohol-related problems; however, few studies have examined these associations using more than one temporal psychology instrument. This omission is potentially problematic as not all instruments measure the same dimensions of temporal psychology. The present study aimed to address this gap in the literature. Methods: Participants (N = 410) were opportunistically sampled from a University in the United Kingdom and completed the following questionnaires: The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory; The Temporal Focus Scale; The Adolescent Time Inventory-Time Attitudes Scale; and The Consideration of Future Consequences Scale-14. Results: Results showed weak to moderate correlations (with one exception, CFC-F and ZTPI-F) between scores on the various temporal scales, indicating that they measure related but distinct constructs. Structural equation modelling and linear regression revealed that AUDIT scores were most strongly associated with present hedonism, symptoms of anxiety were most strongly associated with negative feelings about the present, and symptoms of depression were more moderately associated with a broader range of indicators. Conclusions: Cognitive and affective dimensions of temporal psychology relate differently to different health outcomes, and researchers need to be explicit and clear in reporting findings.

Perceptions of coach-athlete relationship are more important to coaches than athletes in predicting dyadic coping and stress appraisals: An actor-partner independence mediation model

Most attempts to manage stress involve at least one other person, yet coping studies in sport tend to report an athlete’s individual coping strategies. There is a limited understanding of coping involving other people, particularly within sport, despite athletes potentially spending a lot of time with other people, such as their coach. Guided by the systemic-transactional model of stress and coping among couples (Bodenmann, 1995), from relationship psychology, we assessed dyadic coping, perceptions of relationship quality, and primary stress appraisals of challenge and threat among 158 coach–athlete dyads (n = 277 participants). The athletes competed at amateur (n = 123), semi-professional (n = 31), or professional levels (n = 4). Coaches and athletes from the same dyad completed a measure of dyadic coping, coach–athlete relationship, and stress appraisals. We tested an Actor–Partner Interdependence Mediation Model to account for the non-independence of dyadic data. These actor–partner analyses revealed differences between athletes and coaches. Although the actor effects were relatively large compared to partner effects, perceptions of relationship quality demonstrated little impact on athletes. The mediating role of relationship quality was broadly as important as dyadic coping for coaches. These findings provide an insight in to how coach–athlete dyads interact to manage stress and indicate that relationship quality is of particular importance for coaches, but less important for athletes. In order to improve perceptions of relationship quality among coaches and athletes, interventions could be developed to foster positive dyadic coping among both coaches and athletes, which may also impact upon stress appraisals of challenge and threat.

Mental toughness and transitions to high school and to undergraduate study

Abstract Mental toughness can be conceptualised as a set of attributes that allow people to deal effectively with challenges, stressors and pressure. Recent work has suggested that it may be a valuable construct to consider within educational settings. The current studies explored the associations between mental toughness and educational transitions. Study 1 examined the relationships between mental toughness and concerns about moving to a new school in 105 children aged 12–13 years of age. The results revealed significant relationships between several aspects of mental toughness, but particularly confidence in abilities, and children’s concerns. Study 2 examined the relationships between mental toughness and adjustment to university in 200 undergraduate students at various stages of their course. The results revealed a role for several aspects of mental toughness; commitment, control of life, control of emotion, confidence in abilities and interpersonal confidence. The results are discussed in terms of implications for educational practice. It is suggested that measures of mental toughness could be used to identify individuals who may benefit from additional support during transition to a new school or to university, and that future research should explore the potential benefits of mental toughness training.