The concept of mental toughness is widely used, but empirical evidence is required to fully understand this construct and its related variables. The purpose of this paper was to explore the relationship between: (a) mental toughness and coping, (b) mental toughness and optimism, and (c) coping and optimism. Participants were 677 athletes (male 454; female 223) aged between 15 and 58 years (M age = 22.66 years, SD = 7.20). Mental toughness correlated significantly with 8 of the 10 coping subscales and optimism. In particular, higher levels of mental toughness were associated with more problem or approach coping strategies (mental imagery, effort expenditure, thought control, and logical analysis) but less use of avoidance coping strategies (distancing, mental distraction, and resignation). Eight coping subscales were significantly correlated with optimism and pessimism. In conclusion, the relationships observed in this study emphasize the need for the inclusion of coping and optimism training in mental toughness interventions.

In this study we examined athletes' stress appraisals, emotions, coping, and performance satisfaction ratings using a path analysis model. This is the first study to explore all of these constructs in a single study and provides a more holistic examination of the overall stressful experience that athletes encounter. DesignCross-sectional. MethodsParticipants were 557 athletes, aged between 18 and 64 years (M age = 22.28 years, SD = 5.72), who completed a pre-competition measure of stress appraisals and emotions. Participants also completed a coping questionnaire and a subjective performance measure after competing, with regards to how they coped during competition and how satisfied they were with their performance. ResultsPath analysis revealed that appraisals of uncontrollable-by-self, stressfulness, and centrality were positively associated with the relational meaning threat appraisals. Threat appraisals were associated with unpleasant emotions, prior to competition, and pre-ceded distractionand disengagement-oriented coping. The pre-competition appraisals of controllable-by-self, centrality, controllable-by-others, and stressfulness were associated with challenge relational meanings, which in turn were linked to task-oriented coping during competition. Taskoriented coping was positively related to superior subjective performance. ConclusionsOur findings support the notion that stress appraisals, emotions, and coping are highly related constructs that are also associated with performance satisfaction.

This systematic literature review appraises critically the mediating variables of stereotype threat. A bibliographic search was conducted across electronic databases between 1995 and 2015. The search identified 45 experiments from 38 articles and 17 unique proposed mediators that were categorized into affective/subjective (n = 6), cognitive (n = 7) and motivational mechanisms (n = 4). Empirical support was accrued for mediators such as anxiety, negative thinking, and mind-wandering, which are suggested to co-opt working memory resources under stereotype threat. Other research points to the assertion that stereotype threatened individuals may be motivated to disconfirm negative stereotypes, which can have a paradoxical effect of hampering performance. However, stereotype threat appears to affect diverse social groups in different ways, with no one mediator providing unequivocal empirical support. Underpinned by the multi-threat framework, the discussion postulates that different forms of stereotype threat may be mediated by distinct mechanisms.

a b s t r a c tIt was hypothesized that there would be significant differences in mental toughness among athletes of different: (a) achievement level, (b) gender, (c) age, (d) sporting experience, and (e) sport type (team vs. individual and contact vs. non-contact sports). Participants were 677 athletes and consisted of sports performers competing at international (n = 60), national (n = 99), county (n = 198), club/university (n = 289), and beginner (n = 31) levels. Results revealed a significant relationship between mental toughness and gender, age, and sporting experience. However, achievement level and the type of sport an athlete participated in was not significantly associated with mental toughness.

It is widely acknowledged that the importance of sound theoretical guidance is essential to any academic discipline. A common recommendation within the adherence literature related to sport injury rehabilitation has been the need to establish clear theoretical frameworks to guide research and practice. As such, an increasing amount of literature has employed conceptual models that include protection motivation theory, health action process approach, cognitive appraisal models, and attribution theory. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to critically evaluate these contemporary theoretical approaches that have been utilised within the sport injury rehabilitation adherence literature. Alongside this, practical implications emerging from this research base are outlined and future recommendations are suggested that may be of benefit to sports medicine practitioners and researchers alike.