The Sport Mental Training Questionnaire: Development and Validation

Abstract

Research in sports psychology has revealed that mental training is essential in the development of successful athletes. This project, comprised of five studies (a total of N = 2015) resulted in a novel approach towards the measurement of mental skills in sport. In Study 1 (N = 797) and Study 2 (N = 405) we used principal component analysis to identify and confirm the structure of a wide range of identified sport mental skills. Study 3 (N = 429) and Study 5 (N = 330) confirmed factorial structure of Polish and English versions. Study 4 documented how both versions of the scale were developed, and how these two versions converge supporting their cross-cultural validity. The final version contains 20 items grouped into 5 subscales (foundational skills, performance skills, interpersonal skills, self-talk and mental imagery). The Sport Mental Training Questionnaire is a reliable and valid brief questionnaire that will facilitate psychological evaluation of mental preparation among athletes.

Social challenge and threat predict performance and cardiovascular responses during competitive video gaming

“…This seems to suggest that it is important to develop selfconfidence during the training and pre-competition phase as a component of an overall resilience building. For instance, coaches might plan the season schedule to help their athletes to build stronger self-confidence as a distinct component of mental training (Behnke et al, 2019). Consequently, athletes might be more resistant to misleading threatening information during competitions, i.e., inferiority feedback from the opposing team or fake news related to rivals' excellent shape.…”

What Is So Special about Wingsuit BASE Jumpers? A Comparative Study of Their Psychological Characteristics

“…Sports Mental Training was measured using a 10-item adapted version of the Sports Mental Training Questionnaire [ 31 ]. Four of the five factors were included: Foundational Skills (e.g., “I know my own value, my strengths, and weaknesses, and I plan how to improve them”; α = 0.67), Performance Skills (e.g., “When I am under pressure, I’m able to relax physically and mentally, so that I am ready to perform”; r = 0.47), Self-Talk (e.g., “I use self-talk to help myself overcome difficult times”; r = 0.56) and Mental Imagery (e.g., “During preparation for the jump I create real and accurate “inner films” planning possible obstacles and feeling sensations associated with the actual situation to come”; α = 0.70).…”

“…Mental training consists of a set of skills such as attention, focus and emotion regulation—and techniques ranging from self-talk to mental imagery. The use of mental training contributes to the building of a stronger mindset through the regulation of stress and emotions [ 31 ]. A series of research has indicated that athletes high in mental toughness exhibit more effective use of psychological strategies [ 17 ] and are characterized by an enhanced ability to prevent unwanted information from interfering with cognition [ 21 , 32 ].…”

Determining and Measuring Key Psychological Characteristics: The Case of a National Basketball Federation

“…Finally, being a team player was measured using the interpersonal skills sub-scale of the Sport Mental Training Questionnaire (Behnke et al, 2019). The interpersonal skills subscale included four items scored on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree).…”