Exploring athletes' perceptions of the relationship between mental toughness and dispositional flow in sport

Abstract

Objectives\ud \ud Despite considerable scholarly attention over the last two decades, little is known about the influence of dispositional attributes on flow in sport. In achievement settings, mental toughness (MT) is a personal capacity supporting the process of high performance. Based on common overlaps with peak performance, confidence, control, concentration, and thriving in demanding situations, the present research aimed to explore the relationship between MT and dispositional flow and elucidate the psychological variables underlying dispositional flow.\ud \ud Design\ud \ud A mixed method explanatory participant-selection design was adopted, whereby a quantitative approach was used to identify individuals for a qualitative follow-up phase to explore the relationship between MT and dispositional flow.\ud \ud Method\ud \ud An intensity sampling strategy was used to identify individuals with higher/lower MT and dispositional flow. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 athletes (M age = 25, SD = 3.24; female n = 10; male n = 6). An inductive content analysis was undertaken to interpret data.\ud \ud Results\ud \ud Seven general dimensions describing the psychological attributes related to dispositional flow in athletes with higher and lower MT emerged. Specifically, differences in confidence, perfectionism, goal orientation, coping mechanism selection, locus of control, optimism and concentration were apparent and could account for differences in dispositional flow.\ud \ud Conclusion\ud \ud While all athletes experienced flow, there were differences in dispositional flow and the processes involved in entering, maintaining and restoring flow between higher and lower MT subgroups. Findings are discussed in relation to the existing literature, and recommendations for future research into the MT-flow relationship are outlined

Perfectionism and motivation in sport: The mediating role of mental toughness

“…Specifically, MT has often been associated with setting exceedingly challenging performance expectations and maintaining commitment towards reaching such standards. 28,30 These descriptions represent efforts mentally tough athletes direct towards achieving subjective markers of performance and outperforming competitors, which align closely with characterisations of perfectionistic strivings. There is also a self-to-other comparative component to PSP, as athletes who strive for perfection tend to believe they have higher performance standards and achievement goals than their competitors.…”

“…coaches) have described MT as consistently striving to achieve one's best, setting and expecting high standards to be met, being committed to performance excellence and attaining success and pushing physical and mental limits to set oneself apart from competitors. [28][29][30] Furthermore, both athletes 31 and coaches 32 have suggested that athletes' MT development is predicated on high self-and other-initiated expectations (e.g. coach) and encouraging athletes' pursuit of such ideals.…”

“…While many of these descriptions of MT are comparable to aspects of PS outlined in the perfectionism in sport literature, research points to an antithetical association between MT and PC. In a study in which athletes were classified into high and low MT-flow groupings, Jackman et al 30 found evidence of PC, including anxiety about mistakes and concerns over receiving negative feedback, among athletes classified into the low MT-flow group. These findings support previous research emphasising the capacity to reduce negative thoughts, avoid negative reactions to errors that may be detrimental to performance and the ability to rebound adaptively following mistakes 28,33,34 as features of MT.…”

A Three–Domain Personality Analysis of A Mentally Tough Athlete

“…Overall, while some consistencies lie across the various conceptualisations of MT (e.g. it features attributes such as confidence, perseverance, and emotional control; Jackman, Swann, & Crust, ), the present image is that of a multi‐pronged concept, underlined by a range of competing assumptions.…”

Comparative Study of Sport Mental Toughness between Soccer Officials

“…elite athletes, runners, hockey players, soccer players, coaches, soccer referees), there are also specific attributes to each sport and the respective roles played [7,11,12,13,14]. For example, Slack et al, (2012) have studied referees to understand mental toughness in soccer officiating.…”