Is Mental Toughness in Elite Athletes a Predictor of Moral Disengagement in Sports?

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether mental toughness levels of athletes engaged in the elite-level team and individual sports in Ankara and Erzurum were predictors of moral disengagement in sports. The sample of the study consisted of randomly-selected 515 athletes who were actively engaged in sports in their clubs in 2017. The “Moral Disengagement in Sport Scale-Short” (MDSS) developed by Boardley and Kavussanu (2008) and adapted to Turkish by Gülpınar (2015), and the “Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire” (SMTQ) developed by Sheard et al. (2009) and adapted to Turkish by Pehlivan (2014) were used as data collection tools. In the analysis of the data, frequency, percentage, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient and linear regression analysis were utilized.
 
 As a result of the analyzes, no significant difference was found between confidence, one of the sub-scales of the SMTQ, and moral disengagement, but there was a weak positive significant relationship between the constancy and control sub-scales. As a result of the linear regression analysis, it was found that moral disengagement predicted the constancy and control sub-scales significantly and explained 4% and 3% of the variance, respectively, but it was found that the confidence sub-scale was not predicted significantly.

Mental Toughness and Resilience in Trail Runner’s Performance

“…In addition, several events or changing dynamics may occur during a race ( Suter et al, 2020 ) due to the many variable exigencies of this sport ( Scheer et al., 2019 ), including a combination of the runner’s own physical, tactical, and psychological characteristics that can lead to success or failure ( Liew et al, 2019 ). In trail running, as in all other sports, performance is influenced by many physical characteristics like toughness, strength, speed, agility, and by the athletes’ psychological status such as motivation, concentration, and mental ability ( Namli & Demir, 2019 ). In this regard, toughness may be needed for correct decision making under stress-difficult conditions, staying calm under pressure, and overcoming troubles that are intertwined with performance; this makes mental toughness a critical competency for achieving best success ( Namli & Demir, 2019 ).…”

“…In trail running, as in all other sports, performance is influenced by many physical characteristics like toughness, strength, speed, agility, and by the athletes’ psychological status such as motivation, concentration, and mental ability ( Namli & Demir, 2019 ). In this regard, toughness may be needed for correct decision making under stress-difficult conditions, staying calm under pressure, and overcoming troubles that are intertwined with performance; this makes mental toughness a critical competency for achieving best success ( Namli & Demir, 2019 ).…”