Developing Mental Toughness: Lessons from Paralympians

Abstract

Mental toughness (MT) is a key psychological variable related to perseverance and success in performance domains. MT and its development has been explored across a range of contexts and across different sports, but no research to date has examined MT in relation to Paralympic athletes. We sought to understand the lived-experiences of mentally tough Paralympians, aiming to conceptualize MT in a Paralympic context and investigate its development. Ten Paralympic athletes were interviewed using in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The verbatim transcripts of the interviews served as the data for an interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three broad themes and several subthemes emerged in conceptualizing Paralympian MT: characteristics (determination, defiance, pragmatic, optimistic, resilient, self-belief and independence and autonomy), cognitions (normalization, sense of escape, non-acceptance of constraints, influence perception and connection) and cognitive strategies (rational thinking, goal setting, pain management and control). In understanding MT development, two broad themes and several subthemes emerged: formative experiences (challenge, classification, setbacks, critical incident, trauma and recovery, sustained commitment, development of mind-set and perspective during challenge, failure, and acceptance), and support and coping resources (social support and significant others, external shaping, social support, overcoming problems, social comparison and reflective practice). The findings suggest that Paralympians benefited from exposure to highly demanding situations in a supportive environment and this helped develop mentally tough characteristics and behaviors and individualized cognitive coping strategies. Our findings highlight the association between the adaptive development of personal characteristics by overcoming physical and mental setbacks over a sustained time period. Overall, the findings suggest that to develop mentally tough characteristics and behaviors, athletes in general could benefit from exposure to highly demanding situations in a supportive environment.

Sport Psychology Consultants’ Perspectives on Facilitating Sport-Injury-Related Growth

“…From a theoretical perspective, the current findings support and extend the T-SIRG (Roy-Davis et al, 2017). Consistent with previous research (Powell & Myers, 2017;Salim & Wadey, 2017), the present findings resonate with many of the assumptions underpinning the T-SIRG including the importance of certain external (e.g., physical resources and free-time) and internal factors (e.g., knowledge and prior experience), and specific underlying processes (e.g., ongoing strain, positive reappraisal, and positive emotions). However, this study also extends the T-SIRG by providing greater insights into the mechanisms leading to growth.…”

“…Although recent findings resonate with the underlying assumptions of the T-SIRG (i.e., internal resources, reappraisal and positive emotions; Powell & Myers, 2017;Salim & Wadey, 2017), one shortcoming of T-SIRG is that it is not a 'practical' theory (cf. Martens, 1987).…”

A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial to Enhance Well-Being and Performance of Athletes in Para Sports

“…For example, athletes in Para Sports face challenging situations to travel to events inclusive of transfers from wheelchairs to plane seats and bathroom accessibility (Campbell & Jones, 2002). Athletes in Para Sports may experience stress during classification processes and setbacks associated with this or during a drug testing experience complete with the added complications of a catheter (Martin, 2012;Powell & Myers, 2017). These examples can be further amplified through a complex interaction of physical pain, trauma and recovery, difficulties with emotional regulation, and a lack of self-acceptance (Macdougall et al, 2016;Powell & Myers, 2017).…”

“…Athletes in Para Sports may experience stress during classification processes and setbacks associated with this or during a drug testing experience complete with the added complications of a catheter (Martin, 2012;Powell & Myers, 2017). These examples can be further amplified through a complex interaction of physical pain, trauma and recovery, difficulties with emotional regulation, and a lack of self-acceptance (Macdougall et al, 2016;Powell & Myers, 2017). However, documented strengths of athletes in Para Sports include personal growth, optimism, resilience, strong social support networks, meaningful contributions to multiple communities, and mental toughness (Macdougall et al, 2016;Powell & Myers, 2017).…”

“…These examples can be further amplified through a complex interaction of physical pain, trauma and recovery, difficulties with emotional regulation, and a lack of self-acceptance (Macdougall et al, 2016;Powell & Myers, 2017). However, documented strengths of athletes in Para Sports include personal growth, optimism, resilience, strong social support networks, meaningful contributions to multiple communities, and mental toughness (Macdougall et al, 2016;Powell & Myers, 2017). These global well-being strengths have been found to be foundational for sport-specific well-being (Macdougall et al, 2016); foundational qualities may not directly influence performance, but they often have an indirect impact through training quality, social support, and lifestyle choices (Lundqvist & Sandin, 2014;Martin, 2012).…”