Michael Sheard

Hardiness commitment, gender, and age differentiate university academic performance

BACKGROUND The increasing diversity of students, particularly in age, attending university has seen a concomitant interest in factors predicting academic success. AIMS This 2-year correlational study examined whether age, gender (demographic variables), and hardiness (cognitive/emotional variable) differentiate and predict university final degree grade point average (GPA) and final-year dissertation mark. SAMPLE Data are reported from a total of 134 university undergraduate students. METHOD Participants provided baseline data in questionnaires administered during the first week of their second year of undergraduate study and gave consent for their academic progress to be tracked. Final degree GPA and dissertation mark were the academic performance criteria. RESULTS Mature-age students achieved higher final degree GPA compared to young undergraduates. Female students significantly outperformed their male counterparts in each measured academic assessment criteria. Female students also reported a significantly higher mean score on hardiness commitment compared to male students. commitment was the most significant positive correlate of academic achievement. Final degree GPA and dissertation mark were significantly predicted by commitment, and commitment and gender, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The findings have implications for universities targeting academic support services to maximize student scholastic potential. Future research should incorporate hardiness, gender, and age with other variables known to predict academic success.

Effect of a psychological skills training program on swimming performance and positive psychological development

Abstract Research has shown that psychological skills training can be effective in enhancing athletes’ performance and positively influencing cognitive and affective states (cf. Williams & Krane, 2001). However, to date, little work has been conducted investigating such processes with adolescent high‐performing swimmers. The present study examined the effects of a seven‐week psychological skills training (PST) program on competitive swimming performance and positive psychological development. Thirty‐six national level swimmers (13 boys, 23 girls; M = 13.9 years old) followed a PST program for 45 minutes per week. The intervention consisted of goal setting, visualization, relaxation, concentration, and thought stopping. Performance times were obtained from official meets. Participants completed seven inventories measuring quality of performance, and six positive psychological attributes: mental toughness, hardiness, self‐esteem, self‐efficacy, dispositional optimism, and positive affectivity. Findings demonstrated that there was a significant post‐PST program improvement in three separate swimming strokes, each over 200 m. Non‐significant improvements were shown in 10 other events. There was also an overall significant improvement in participants’ post‐intervention positive psychological profiles

Progress Toward Construct Validation of the Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire (SMTQ)

This study examines the construct validity of an original self-report instrument for the assessment of mental toughness: the Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire (SMTQ). Two independent studies supported a three-factor (Confidence, Constancy, and Control) 14-item model for the SMTQ. With a sample of 633 athletes (427 males, 206 females; M age = 21.5 years; SD = 5.48), drawn from 25 sport classifications, and competing at international, national, county and provincial, or club and regional standards, the first study utilized item development and exploratory factor analytic techniques to establish the psychometric properties of the SMTQ. Study 2 employed confirmatory factor analytic techniques with an independent sample of 509 sports performers (351 males, 158 females; M age = 20.2 years; SD = 3.35), competing at the aforementioned standards, and representative of 26 sports. Confirmatory analysis using structural equation modeling confirmed the overall structure. A single factor underlying mental toughness...

Evaluating the factor structure of the Psychological Performance Inventory.

This study assesses the construct validity of a measure of mental toughness, Loehrs Psychological Performance Inventory. Performers (N = 408, 303 men, 105 women, M age = 24.0 yr., SD = 6.7) drawn from eight sports (artistic roller-skating, basketball, canoeing, golf, rugby league, rugby union, soccer, swimming), and competing at either international, national, county and provincial, or club and regional standards. They completed the 42-item Psychological Performance Inventory during training camps. Principal components analysis provided minimal support for the factor structure. Instead, the exploratory analysis yielded a 4-factor 14-item model (PPIA). A single factor underlying mental toughness (GMT) was identified with higher-order exploratory factor analysis using the Schmid-Leiman procedure. Psychometric analysis of the model, using confirmatory analysis techniques, fitted the data well. Collectively satisfying absolute and incremental fit index benchmarks, the inventory possesses satisfactory psychometric properties, with adequate reliability and convergent and discriminant validity. The results lend preliminary support to the factorial validity and reliability of the model; however, further investigation of its stability is required before recommending practitioners use changes in scores as an index for evaluating effects of training in psychological skills.

The Efficacy of an Outdoor Adventure Education Curriculum on Selected Aspects of Positive Psychological Development

To date, little empirical research has been conducted to support the claim that outdoor adventure education (OAE) develops desirable psychological characteristics in participants. This study examined the effects of an OAE foundation degree curriculum on positive psychological development. Fifty-two students (26 OAE students, 26 controls on an unrelated course), aged 16–39 years, completed a battery of positive psychological questionnaires (at the start of their respective courses and 3 months later) measuring hardiness, mental toughness, self-esteem, self-efficacy, dispositional optimism, and positive affectivity. OAE curriculum activities included rock-climbing, navigation training, countryside leadership, gill-scrambling, and open canoeing. Control students were enrolled on a classroom-based travel and tourism college course. Inferential multivariate statistics revealed non-significant (p > .05, partial η2 = .38) improvements by the OAE group across several psychological constructs. Significant effects (p < .05, partial η2 = .15) for the cohort were revealed for total hardiness. No significant gender differences were reported. The non-significant overall effect is interpreted in terms of sample size, OAE activities, and measured personality styles. The implications of these results are discussed relative to previous findings and in terms of psychological theory.

A Cross-National Analysis of Mental Toughness and Hardiness in Elite University Rugby League Teams:

The relation between nationality and selected indicators of psychological performance in rugby league football was examined. Mental toughness was assessed using the alternative Psychological Performance Inventory (PPI–A) and hardiness using the Personal Views Survey III–R (PVS III–R). Participants (N = 49, M age = 21.7 yr., SD = 2.3) were male elite-level university rugby league footballers representing Australia and Great Britain. Participants completed the questionnaires in training camp in Sydney, Australia, one week prior to the commencement of an international tournament there in 2006. Multivariate analyses revealed that the Australian Universities players had significantly higher mean scores on Positive Cognition, Visualization, Total Mental Toughness, and Challenge than their opponents from Great Britain. The Australian Universities players were also the tournament winners. The findings concur with previous research indicating superior mental toughness and hardiness are related to successful sport performance. Practical implications focus on the potentiality of ameliorative cultural environments.

The Relationship Between Genotype and Positive Psychological Development in National-Level Swimmers

We report a preliminary study of the relationship between genotype (using a functional polymorphism of the serotonin transporter 5-HTT gene) and positive psychological development in high-achieving adolescent swimmers. Thirty-one volunteers of both genders, aged 10-24 years, completed a battery of positive psychological questionnaires measuring hardiness, mental toughness, self-esteem, self-efficacy, dispositional optimism, and positive affectivity. DNA samples were obtained via buccal swabs. The sample was initially split into three groups on the basis of 5-HTT genotype: SS, SL, and LL. Multivariate statistics revealed a discernible trend of a relationship between LL genotype and higher levels of positive psychological development. The nonsignificant overall effect is interpreted in terms of sample size and age of participants. The implications of these results are discussed relative to previous findings and in terms of psychological theory.

Personality hardiness differentiates elite-level sport performers.

Abstract Hardiness has three components: commitment to full involvement in life (commitment), belief in personal control over events (control), and enjoyment of challenge and opportunity (challenge). Evidence drawn across a variety of work environments suggests that these hardiness components facilitate optimal functioning. However, to date, only minimal empirical attention has been devoted to replicating such findings in the realm of competitive sport. This study examined the potential of the hardiness construct in differentiating elite‐level sport performers. Volunteers (N = 1566; M = 21.7 years; SD = 4.2) were drawn from 16 sport classifications and were presently competing at international, national, county/provincial, or club/regional competitive levels. They completed the 18‐item Personal Views Survey III‐R in their respective training camps. Multivariate analysis of covariance revealed that international competitors scored significantly higher (p < .001) in commitment and total hardiness compared to counterparts in each of the other three competitive levels, and they scored higher in control in comparison to national and club performers when adjustments were made for age, type of sport, category of sport, and gender. This research identifies that a psychological profile that includes high levels of hardiness appears to distinguish elite‐level competitors from subelite performers. Implications and future research suggestions are discussed

Investigating the ‘rigid persistence paradox’ in professional rugby union football

Abstract This study sought to extend the findings of Amiot, Vallerand, and Blanchard (2006), which recently provided evidence of the “rigid persistence paradox” in high‐achieving sport performers. The paradox amounts to athletes adjusting more easily to the demands of highly competitive sport if they rate highly in obsessive passion, a type of passion characterized as an internal pressure that compels the individual to engage in the passionate activity. The activity controls the person, resulting in an increased risk of experiencing conflict and increased negative affect. Yet, despite this, Amiot et al.’s findings suggest that obsessively passionate athletes adjust to the most competitive environments. The present study examined the levels of harmony and obsession of passion in the high‐impact collision sport of rugby union football. Participants were 78 rugby union footballers representing three playing levels of the professional game in Great Britain (International, Club, and Academy). Results indicated that performers playing at the International and Academy standards scored significantly higher in obsessive passion than Club players, as measured by the Passion Scale. However, obsessive passion was not correlated with negative emotional outcomes, as measured by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. These findings provide partial supportive evidence of the existence of the rigid persistence paradox. Results are discussed in terms of the acceptance of the dedication and hours of deliberate practice needed to: a) compete at International level and b) become a professional sportsperson. Implications for sports performers and coaches, and future research suggestions, are discussed