Mental Toughness and Coping Strategies in Collegiate Skiers

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1 Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal Volume 3 Issue 1 Article Mental Toughness and Coping Strategies in Collegiate Skiers Julia Hayes Montana State University - Bozeman, juliahayes44@yahoo.com Follow this and additional works at: Part of the Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms Commons, Other Psychiatry and Psychology Commons, Pain Management Commons, Physiological Processes Commons, Sports Sciences Commons, and the Sports Studies Commons Recommended Citation Hayes, Julia (2015) "Mental Toughness and Coping Strategies in Collegiate Skiers," Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal: Vol. 3 : Iss. 1, Article 3. Available at: This Research Article is brought to you for free and open access by Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal. It has been accepted for inclusion in Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal by an authorized editor of Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal.

2 Mental Toughness and Coping Strategies in Collegiate Skiers Keywords Mental Toughness, Coping This research article is available in Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal:

3 Hayes: Mental Toughness and Coping Strategies in Collegiate Skiers Introduction Pain is a mental construct that has been evolved as a warning signal to avoid injury. Athletes are able to overcome the mental roadblock of pain with many different coping strategies. Research has shown that pain coping mechanisms can help athletes to avoid the negative effect of pain on performance (Thelwell, Weston, Greenlees, 2005). Strategies such as ignoring pain can be used to change pain perception. Pain tolerance has also been shown to increase with mental training during exercise, suggesting that specific coping mechanisms can have a strong impact on an athlete s ability to maintain a high performance level during competition (Thelwell, 2005). Mental training has also shown to increase pain tolerance during strenuous exercise, suggesting that certain strategies can have a significant impact on an athlete s ability to maintain a high performance (Thelwell, 2005). The purpose of this research is to distinguish between different coping mechanisms and the role they have in maintaining a high performance level in colligate skiers, specifically between perceived mentally tough and non-mentally tough athletes, and between gender and discipline. Review of Literature Defining mental toughness is something that has become rather obscure. Many researchers have tried to define this term but such definitions are often overly complex and result in increased confusion rather than clarity. According to Grahm Jones (2002), possible definitions of mental toughness include: the ability to cope with and/or handle adversity, stress, and pressure, the ability to overcome and rebound from an intense failure, the ability to endure, and the refusal to quit. Other definitions proposed by Adam R. Nicholls et al. (2007) include the inability to give up, the insensitivity to resilience, maintaining control under pressure, and the possession of superior mental skills. These definitions seem to combine the most ideal traits of a successful athlete and add the idea of managing the psychological and physical stress of competition and high performance. Jones (2002) also describes that mentally tough athletes have acquired the ability to harness and control their mental state, allowing them to construct the proper attitude that encourages resilience under competitive pressure. It has also been proposed that mental toughness is a personality trait or a state of mind that an athlete is able to put themselves in under specific circumstances. This trait can be brought on by certain behavior that can represent tougher, more practical dimensions of thinking (Jones, 2002). The power to rate an athlete s ability to cope with their surroundings has been diagramed in many ways, one of which is the Mental Toughness Questionnaire 48 (MTQ48), created by Dr. Peter Clough, Dr. Lee Crust and Dr. Keith Earle (2002) of Hull University in Kingston Hull, England. This model is able to measure mental toughness based on an individual s ability to withstand pressure, resilience and inner drive to succeed in the face of challenges. This model uses Published by Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal,

4 Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal, Vol. 3 [2015], Iss. 1, Art. 3 constructs from previously defined elements of mental toughness described by Kobasa (1979): Hardiness and Confidence. These factors are able to define a person s feelings of influence, openness to change, and ability to control their state of mind. This questionnaire rates four different factors: control, challenge, commitment, and confidence to combine for a total mental toughness score. The concept of control relates to how much dominance an individual feels they have over their environment. Control breaks down into two sub scales: emotion, identifying control over anxieties, and life control representing the belief that they control their own life. Challenge describes individuals who actively seek out opportunities for self-improvement. Commitment describes an ability to maintain success even when problems occur. Confidence shows high self-belief to successfully complete an endeavor, even if it is considered too difficult by others. This category is also broken down into two sub scales of ability and interpersonal confidence showing more assertiveness, less intimidation by social settings, and a better ability to cope with difficult situations (Jones, 2002). The mental toughness questionnaire used in this research determines total mental toughness by a series of true and false questions that are broken up into sections of: reboundability, focus, change, confidence, and motivation. Kobasa s (1979) Hardiness Test measures psychological hardiness, personality hardiness, and cognitive hardiness; a style originally introduced in her study Stressful life events, personality, and health - Inquiry into hardiness. This described the personality characteristics of people in high powered positions, and their ability to remain healthy under stress. Originally, hardiness was defined as a personality trait incorporating three general dispositions of commitment, control, and challenge. These function as a resistance resource under stress (Kobasa, 1979). Commitment refers to the tendency to be involved in activities of true interest and curiosity about the surrounding world. Control is the tendency to believe and act as if one can influence events taking place through a personal effort. Challenge is the belief that change instead of stability is normal and constitutes motivating opportunities for growth in performance rather than threats to security. When these components are combined, they provide courage and motivation for people to conquer stress and create opportunity. Results of this test indicate an individual s adaptability to stress, and their ability to cope successfully with strenuous events. Other studies using this model have found that an increase in hardiness level can result in lower sympathetic nervous stimulation creating a decrease in cardiovascular reactivity to stress (Kobasa, 1985). However, it showed an indirect relationship with health behaviors (Kobasa, 1985). An individual obtaining a high score indicated a view that stressful situations are less threatening (Westman, 1990), and represents the ability to increase performance with specific coping styles (Maddi, 2004; Bartone, 2006). 2

5 Hayes: Mental Toughness and Coping Strategies in Collegiate Skiers Nicholls, Polman, Levy, and Backhouse (2007) have also gaged total mental toughness based on a Mental Toughness Questionnaire. In their survey, mental toughness was rated on a five-point Likert scale with six subcomponents: challenge, commitment, interpersonal confidence, confidence in own abilities, emotional control, and life control. Nicholls (2007) survey was used to compare mental toughness with optimism, pessimism and the ability to cope with the demands of competition. Results from this research revealed many different coping strategies that can be used to relate mental toughness and attitude. Nicholls' (2007) research used the Coping Inventory for Competitive Sport (CSIS) to assess coping mechanisms for competitive athletes using ten different sub scales within three dimensions: task-oriented, distraction-oriented, and disengagement-oriented. The researchers theorized that distraction and disengagement coping styles revolve more around removing oneself from the situation, and becoming more detached and withdrawn from a scenario. However, if a task coping style is more associated with thought control, imagery, relaxation, effort expenditure, logical analysis, and seeking a support system, this implies that active coping styles can reduce the negative aspects of a challenging task, and sustain a higher level of mental toughness. All these factors contribute to the mental state of a person and are subject to change under pressure (Jones, 2010), and mental state (Nicholls, 2007). However, this study failed to determine the coping style that mentally tough athletes use. The results only suggested that mentally tough athletes use more task-oriented (active) coping strategies and less disengagement (avoidance) strategies. Mental toughness can improve performance depending on how it is implemented through coping styles. Nicholls (2007) defines mental toughness as the ability to cope with training and competition demands with determination, focus, confidence and control. Coping is the psychological variable to mental toughness (Van Damme, 2008), and can be thought of as how people make sense of struggle, and adapt or avoid causes of failure. Athletes in particular cope with a large number of variables all at the same time, environment, competition, team dynamics, and coaches. Each of these stressors can influence behavior when viewed as contradictory or threatening to a competitive goal that can cause a change in behavior in response to that stressor. Van Damme (2008) classifies coping abilities three different ways: active verses passive coping, approach verses avoidance coping, and problem-focused verses emotional-focused coping. Each of these has an adaptive and maladaptive mechanism. Active and passive coping is taken from the Vanderbilt Pain Management Inventory (Brown & Nicassio, 1987) and suggests that active coping controls pain and can be adjusted, whereas passive coping is surrendering to the pain and maladaptive. This theory seems to correlate with Jones et.al. (2002) theory that mental toughness is associated with managing stress and controlling mental state. Coping mechanisms have a high influence Published by Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal,

6 Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal, Vol. 3 [2015], Iss. 1, Art. 3 over mental toughness and the ability to push through the pain to maintain a higher performance level. Approach verses avoidance coping seems to follow the same theme of adaptive (approach) coping signals with pain and its causes, compared to maladaptive (avoidance) coping with retreat when faced with pain. Problem-focused coping directly addresses the problem of pain and how to solve the problem, and emotional-focused coping uses emotional responses to pain and stress (Daily Pain Coping Inventory, DCPI). Both problem-and emotional-focused coping are broadly applicable in pain causing diseases. Studies using DCPI are often used to correlate coping strategies, mood, and pain levels (Affleck, 1999). Even with this strong evidence that specific coping can enhance mental toughness and pain management there is no strategy that has been proven to be clearly superior (Van Damme, 2008), indicating that coping and mental toughness can also be independent variables when assessing pain. Skinner et. al. (2000) suggests that there are three functional responses to behavior adaptation under stress: controlling a stressor, social resources, or adaptation or changing of goals, all of which have the ability to change an individual s motivation and mental toughness towards a specific goal. Other studies, including Thomas, Murphy, and Hardy s (1999) Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS), have found specific performance strategies that are positively related to mental toughness in practice and competition, including positive self-talk, emotional control, and relaxation techniques. These coping strategies have been correlated to results from the MTQ48 and have found that psychological strategies are more frequently used in individuals with higher commitment scores, suggesting that athletes with a deep involvement in their sport seek out alternative ways of increasing performance. It is important to define mental toughness when relating it to pain management during competition to determine which factors can potentially eliminate perceived pain and maintain performance. The knowledge of specific coping mechanisms and how they enhance an athlete s state of mind can differ between mentally tough and non-mentally tough athletes and possibly help create a stronger state of mind for non-mentally tough athletes. Researchers have also used Personal Construct Theory (Jones, 2002). This theory emphasizes the way a person may interpret life events. It contemplates the individuality of each person, but also the common process of thinking that most people share. This can also illustrate the difference between what creates mental toughness in an individual, and how experience and results in performance can produce a new way of thinking that heightens performance. Even with such vague definitions, research has still been conducted to gage mental toughness. Nicholls et. al. (2007) defined mental toughness as the ability to cope with training and competition demands. This includes determination, focus, confidence, and control. Their research used different surveys to com- 4

7 Hayes: Mental Toughness and Coping Strategies in Collegiate Skiers pare mental toughness with optimism and pessimism. Results revealed that there are many different coping strategies that can be used to relate mental toughness and attitude. Nicholls (2007) research used the CICS survey to assess coping for competitive athletes. They found that a task coping style is more associated with thought control, imagery, relaxation, effort expenditure, logical analysis, and seeking a support system. This seems to suggest more active forms of personal coping in order to overcome the negative aspects of a task or a goal in order to sustain a more mentally tough state of mind. However, distraction and disengagement coping styles involve removing oneself from the situation all together, and becoming more detached and withdrawn from the scenario. This represents a more non-mentally tough attitude that could potentially hinder performance (Nicholls, (2007). Methods The goal of this research was to determine different coping mechanisms that can enhance mental toughness and increase performance. Knowing an athlete s total mental toughness and how they cope with the stress of competition can potentially provide specific techniques on managing stress to remain mentally tough and maintain a high performance under pressure. The participants of this study included 16 competitive, collegiate Nordic and alpine ski racers (11 women, 5 men) on the Montana State University Ski Team. All athletes have been competing no lower than a national level for at least six years. Nine (56%) have competed on an international level. The subjects were chosen from a convenience sample, and limited by time constraints and scheduling. Data gathered for this study was conducted by the administration of three surveys. Two of these estimated the athletes total mental toughness. The Hardiness Test was administered online and asked questions about daily happiness level. Specific questions included: If you were asked to stay late at work by your boss, how would you react? Answers including: Accept the challenge and take on the extra work, Feel overworked and moan about how your boss should be able to do the work themselves, and Start to feel very stressed and freak out about all the extra work you have to do (Hardiness Test, 1996). The Mental Toughness Questionnaire asking a series of 30 true and false questions revolved around the specific characteristics: Focus, Confidence, Motivation, Determination, and Reboundability. Examples of these questions include: Do you dwell on mistakes or move past them? and Do you feel like you perform better during practice? (Goldberg). The last survey was a series of 11 questions using a Likert scale and free response, asking about different coping styles used when under stress or fatigue during competition, and mental toughness. Questions were supported by existing literature (Clough, 2002; Jones, 2002; Nicholls, 2007) addressing personal views on individual confidence, control, challenge, and commitment, as well as opinions on the importance of common constructs of mental toughness. These questions were to gain information on Published by Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal,

8 Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal, Vol. 3 [2015], Iss. 1, Art. 3 what each participant thought was true about mental toughness and to obtain a self-perceived mental toughness score. Other questions were to gain information on individual coping styles and the stresses of the sport. Data Analysis The data were first analyzed quantitatively by Survey Monkey using descriptive statistics, and qualitatively by text analysis, triangulation, and constant comparison to find a general understanding of each participant s mental toughness and their different coping styles. Mental toughness was scored based on the different surveys issued. The scores of each were reviewed and compared to create a generalized average of each survey. Data were then compared between gender and discipline. Individual case studies were developed to understand how each person handled stress mentally, and what they did to reduce stress during higher performance. The most stressful aspects of skiing, and what actually works to push through the pain both mentally and physically was examined for each subject. Results From the data collected, there were trends in stressors for each sport and coping mechanisms used to block out mental fatigue. However, there was nothing to support the idea that perceived mentally tough athletes utilize different coping styles that lead to better performance. Throughout the data, almost every skier thought that the most stressful part of the sport was the pressure and the expectations that are put on them by their coaches, families, teammates, and themselves. Within the Nordic women, balancing priorities also seemed to be a large stressor. Common coping mechanisms that are used are imagery and visualization and positive self-talk. Out of 16 athletes, 14 (87%) said that some form of selftalk is used, and this would help them to push through pain during high performance. However, one Nordic female that did not use self-talk to cope with pain stated that; I think about nothing and just go! She obtained the highest Hardiness score overall, and a very high mental toughness score, and had top finishes at the national level in the past ski season ( ). The men had similar trends as the women. Most said that the pressure of competition and the expectation of high performance is hardest to cope with, but the majority (80%) said that to handle the stress, they simply confront it. Most men had a more care free, relaxed attitude towards their stressors compared to an emotional response from most of the women. One Alpine male explained that to handle the most stressful part of the sport was to, Screw it, send it. Another exclaimed that he confronted his stress but acknowledges that; it doesn t really matter or by blocking everything out. Although men had a variety of mental toughness scores, all men performed at a high level. This suggests that mental toughness may not have a significant role in maintaining performance during fatigue and coping strategies may play a larger role in performance. 6

9 Hayes: Mental Toughness and Coping Strategies in Collegiate Skiers Other than large prominent trends, there was no other pattern exhibited in the results. However, several individual cases added to other patterns and further understanding of the results. For example, one female Nordic athlete had a hardiness score of a 57% indicating that she is more likely to be unmotivated by stress and less likely to adapt to challenges that are presented to her, with less successful coping styles. This score and the hardiness test overall relates to the reboundability score of the mental toughness questionnaire. This skill relates one s ability to bounce back from mistakes. This particular athlete showed this to be a positive relationship scoring very low in reboundability. However, she also thought that she performed best under pressure but stated that she is unable to stay calm when pressure increases. This athlete also indicated that she has little control over her anxieties when specifically asked on a self-perception scale. From this finding, it can be concluded that pressure may increase her anxiety of high performance which leads to losing control of one s mental state resulting in a lack of focus, which can decrease overall mental toughness. Even though she faces challenges well, the pressure is still able to consume her because she is concentrating more on her fear instead of her performance. The results of her surveys also suggested that she has low confidence. Despite that, finding was somewhat contradictory. She stated that mistakes do not get her down, but once she has negative thoughts, it is harder to perform. This can relate to poor focus. If the athlete is concentrating more on poor performance then that is what consumes them, creating poor self-confidence. Alternatively, she has high motivation and commitment to her performance. She understands that practice has a purpose in achieving her specific goals which increases her total mental toughness. The hardest part of skiing for her is racing and balancing priorities. From her results, this could be due to the lack of her ability to focus. She also puts unneeded pressure on herself making it hard for her to concentrate on the task she is doing. Even though she is able to handle the pressure, she cannot focus on the important things of high performance. It was also interesting that she is able to handle pressure well but does not believe that it is a large part of being mentally tough. Other interesting results came from one Nordic woman and two Alpine men. One Nordic female received the lowest Hardiness score overall of 30% suggesting that she does not resist stress effectively. However, her reboundability score was higher (66%). The lowest scores were her confidence (0%) and her motivation (50%). This became very clear when she stated that; finding confidence and motivation to push myself is the hardest part of the sport. It was proven again when answers given in the self-perceived mental toughness survey, indicating that she has a relatively negative view about life and that she is very likely to let mistakes get her down. However, this athlete accomplished consistently good race results, with improvement in every race. This could be because she ignores the stress of competition and high performance, and finds that the knowledge of Published by Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal,

10 Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal, Vol. 3 [2015], Iss. 1, Art. 3 obtaining results encourages her to push through the pain. This athlete also strongly believes that pushing boundaries of pain while maintaining effort and technique during competition, maintaining psychological control during/after unexpected events, and having the determination to achieve are all important aspects of mental toughness. This might push her to her maximum performance to have good results. This could indicate that her mental toughness may not weigh as heavily on her performance as much as her coping strategies. According to the mental toughness questionnaire, despite poor overall focus, this same subject has the ability to focus on individual, controllable aspects of her performance. She agrees with the statement that staying completely focused when faced with personal distractions, and being able to deal with challenges, stress, and pressure are large contributors to high mental toughness. The survey used to obtain these results indicates that her perception of mental toughness has a stronger influence on her total mental toughness than any other factor. A male Alpine athlete who exhibited exceptional mental toughness in all categories scored a 75% on the Hardiness Test with average mental toughness. From the Hardiness Test, it was found that he has a persistent attitude which helps him push through challenges and stay motivated when encountering failures. There was a positive relationship between the Hardiness Test and the mental toughness questionnaire, displaying strong reboundability skills. It was interesting that he was the only participant that thought that the physical fatigue of skiing and maintaining performance level through fatigue is the most stressful aspect of the sport, but to cope, he still uses positive self-talk. However, in his self-talk he focuses on executing his technique properly instead of attempting to calm himself down. He also confronts his stressors as if they do not matter. This indicates that he has the ability to focus on the task at a high level, contributing to the high control that he has. Additionally, for this athlete, his lowest score is handling pressure. He does not like the pressure of races and feels like he performs better in practice. This might be because he tells himself that; it doesn t really matter. By reducing the importance of competition, he might be more tolerable of mistakes during high performance. One last athlete that had interesting results was an Alpine male scoring a 49% on the Hardiness Test and having low mental toughness. This athlete exhibited a positive relationship between his Hardiness score and his reboundability, but with an even lower score for his focus and motivation. Contradictions were found within his results as well. According to the mental toughness questionnaire, he had relatively high confidence, but from the self-perceived mental toughness questions, he indicated very low confidence believing that he is not a worthwhile person, and generally having a negative view about life. This may suggest that he is confident in his abilities as an athlete but not as a person. From the answers given, this athlete possessed very low mental toughness, but exhibited very good 8

11 Hayes: Mental Toughness and Coping Strategies in Collegiate Skiers race results again proving that coping strategies may have a greater effect on performance. Finally, this athlete also did not exhibit any qualities that he thought to be important in mental toughness. He scored low in motivation, but having the determination to achieve, and the ability to maintain technique during fatigue were both large contributors to overall mental toughness. Results from this study reveal that mental toughness does not factor into high performance levels quite as much as coping strategies. Mental toughness does play a part in particular coping mechanisms (Nicholls, 2007), but from this sample size, there was no clear association between a high mental toughness score and better results. However, coping styles did contribute to better performances among colligate skiers. Conclusion It is true that that mental toughness does play a role in achieving a high performance; however, how an athlete utilizes their mental toughness to cope through painful situations is key in maintaining a high performance (Jones, 2002; Nicholls, 2007). This research has resulted in coping styles having a more prominent role in obtaining a high performance. Mental toughness is a result of a particular coping strategy, not the strategy representing mental toughness, due to the fact that most of the participants involved (67%) had good race results with varying mental toughness scores. This can be supported further by the collected data stating that some form of self-talk was used as a coping mechanism to maintain performance under stress and fatigue. This study proposed many limitations. All subjects were obtained from a convenience sample with time restraints creating minimal data collection. This study also did not utilize the most accurate form of scoring total mental toughness. By using three separate scores, mental toughness was potentially skewed. Furthermore, this researcher personally knew each subject, incorporating bias into data and results. From this study, supplementary research can be performed. Focusing questions on specific coping styles and what actually works for athletes to push through the pain. To prioritize research around the individuals strengths of mental toughness and create specific coping styles and programs that harnesses those strengths to obtain maximal performance. Other research that can be pulled from this is testing the difference of mental toughness between different sports. How does mental state change in an individual within a team sport? and what can be done to improve mental toughness that is applicable in team dynamics that cannot be found in an individual sport like skiing. Published by Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal,

12 Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal, Vol. 3 [2015], Iss. 1, Art. 3 References Affleck, G., Tennen, H., Keefe, F., Lefebvre, J., Kashikar-Zuck, S., Wright, K. Caldwell, D. (1999). Everyday life with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis: Independent effects of disease and gender on daily pain, mood, and coping. Pain, doi: /s (99) Bartone, P. T. (2006). "Resilience under military operational stress: Can Leaders Influence Hardiness?". Military Psychology 18: S131 S148. doi: /s mp1803s_10 Clough, P., Crust, L., & Earle, K. (2002). The Design and Development of the MTQ48. Deroche, T., Woodman, T., Stephan, Y., Brewer, B., & Le Scanff, C. (2011). Athletes' Inclination To Play Through Pain: A Coping Perspective. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 24(5), Funk, S. C. (1992). "Hardiness A review of theory and research". Health Psychology 11 (5): doi: / PMID Geva, N., & Defrin, R. (2013). Enhanced pain modulation among triathletes: A possible explanation for their exceptional capabilities. PAIN, 154(11), Retrieved from Science Direct.Jones, G. (2010). What Is This Thing Called Mental Toughness? An Investigation of Elite Sport Performers. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 14(3), Goldberg, A. (n.d.). Mental Toughness Questionnaire. Retrieved May 30, 2015, from Ques tionnaire.pdf Hardiness Test. (1996). Retrieved May 30, 2015, from com/tests/access_page/index.htm?idregtest=700#n Hardy, L., Roberts, R., Thomas, P., & Murphy, S. (1999). Test of Performance 10

13 Hayes: Mental Toughness and Coping Strategies in Collegiate Skiers Strategies (TOPS): Instrument refinement using confirmatory factor analysis. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 11, Retrieved from Science Direct. Kobasa, S. C. (1982). "Commitment and coping in stress resistance among lawyers". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 42 (4): doi: / Kobasa, S. C. (1979). "Stressful life events, personality, and health Inquiry into hardiness". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 37 (1): doi: / PMID Maddi, S. R. (2006). "Hardiness: The courage to grow from stresses". Journal of Positive Psychology 1 (3): doi: / Maddi, S. R., & Kobasa, S. C. (1984). The hardy executive: Health under stress. Homewood, IL: Dow Jones-Irwin. Nicholls, A., Polman, R., Levy, A., & Backhouse, S. (2008). Mental toughness, optimism, pessimism, and coping among athletes. Personality and Individual Differences, 44(5), Thelwell, R., Weston, N., & Greenlees, I. (2006). Defining And Understanding Mental Toughness Within Soccer. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 17(4), Van Damme, S., Crombez, G., & Eccleston, C. (2008). Coping with pain: A motivational perspective. PAIN, 139(1), 1-4. Retrieved from Science Direct. Westman, M. (1990). "The relationship between stress and performance: The moderating effect of hardiness". Human Performance 3 (3): doi: /s hup0303_1 Published by Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal,

14 Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal, Vol. 3 [2015], Iss. 1, Art. 3 Appendix - Survey on coping strategies and self-perceived mental toughness 1. Do you perceive yourself as a mentally tough person/athlete? 2. What part of your sport do you find most stressful? 3. How do you mentally prepare for sport/competition? - specific coping strategies like imagery, positive self-talk, avoidance, ect 4. How would you rate yourself on a scale of 1-5 of the following components? (1 being not like you, 5 being more like you) Do you genuinely believe that you are a worthwhile person? Do you have a positive view about life? How likely are you to allow mistakes to get you down? How likely are you to speak your mind in confrontation? 12

15 Hayes: Mental Toughness and Coping Strategies in Collegiate Skiers Do you have a belief that can make things happen? Do you feel that you have control your anxieties? How likely are you to lose your cool in stressful situations? Are you able to cope effectively when presented with challenges? How likely are you to seek out a challenge? Are you able to complete a task even under difficult conditions? Are you able to find different ways to motivate yourself? Do you complete a task once you start? 5. How do you handle the most stressful part of your sport? (ignorance, confront it, ect.) 6. Which aspects of your sport are hardest to cope with? (Pressure, stress, expectation, ect.) Published by Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal,

16 Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal, Vol. 3 [2015], Iss. 1, Art On a scale of 1-5, how important are these statements in contributing to mental toughness? (1 being not very important, 5 being very important) Having an unshakable self-belief in your ability to achieve your competition goals Possessing unique qualities and abilities that make you better than your opponents. Having the desire and internalized motive to succeed. Being able to bounce back from performance setbacks as a result of increased determination to succeed. The ability to thrive on the pressure of competition. Accepting that anxiety is part of competition and know that you can cope with it. Not being affected by others good or bad performances. 14

17 Hayes: Mental Toughness and Coping Strategies in Collegiate Skiers Staying completely focused when faced with personal distractions. Pushing boundaries of physical and emotional pain while still maintaining effort and technique in competition and training. Maintaining psychological control after unexpected or uncontrollable events Being able to deal with challenge, stress, and pressure The ability to shrug off challenges, problems, and setbacks The ability to maintain a positive attitude Having the determination to achieve 8. For you, what strategies have proven to help push through the pain during training or competition? 9. How long have you been involved in competition in your sport? 4 years 6 years Published by Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal,

18 Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal, Vol. 3 [2015], Iss. 1, Art. 3 8years 10+ years 10. What is the highest level of competition you have competed in? Club National International Colligate - Mental Toughness Questionnaire Answer T for True and F for False for each statement 1) I frequently worry about mistakes. 2) I get really down on myself during performance when I mess up. 3) It's easy for me to let go of my mistakes. 4) If I start out badly, it's hard for me to turn my performance around. 5) I get distracted by what the coach thinks whenever I screw up. 6) I bounce back quickly from setbacks, bad breaks and mistakes. 7) I do my best when there's more pressure on me. 8) I get too nervous to really perform to my potential. 9) I do better in practice than I do when it really counts the most. 10) I tend to get easily psyched out or intimidated. 11) I can keep myself calm and composed under pressure. 12) I don't want the ball/dread competing at "crunch time." (big game/race). 13) The coach's yelling knocks me off my game. 14) I tend to get easily distracted. 15) Certain opponents can get into my head and throw me off my game. 16) Lousy playing conditions (weather, field conditions, temperature, etc.) negatively affect me. 17) I have no trouble focusing on what's important and blocking everything else out. 18) I think too much about what could go wrong right before and during performance, (the "what if's"). 19) One or two failures do not shake my confidence. 16

19 Hayes: Mental Toughness and Coping Strategies in Collegiate Skiers 20) I tend to compare myself too much with teammates and opponents. 21) I'd rather compete against a better opponent and lose than go up against a weaker opponent and win. 22) I am a confident and self-assured athlete. 23) I tend to be too negative. 24) I have trouble dealing with negative self-talk (thoughts). 25) I get more motivated after failures and setbacks. 26) It's easy for me to consistently train at a high level of intensity. 27) I think about how today's practice will help me get to my goals. 28) I find myself just going through the motions a lot in practice. 29) I have clear goals that are important for me to achieve. 30) I am a highly motivated athlete. SCORING: Section 1, questions 1-6 deal with "Reboundability" or your skill at mentally bouncing back from setbacks and mistakes. Mental toughness depends on your ability to quickly leave your mistakes and failures behind you. Hanging onto your mistakes will get you into big trouble, performance-wise. Athletes who dwell on their mistakes while the competition continues, end up making more. Score 1 point for each of the following answers: 1) F 2) F 3) T 4) F 5) F 6) T Section 2, questions 7-12 deal with the ability to handle pressure. Without the ability to stay calm in the clutch, an athlete will always underachieve. Peak performance demands that you are relaxed once the performance begins. While a little nervousness is critical for getting "up" for a game/match/race and performing at your best, ("good nervousness") too much nerves ("bad nervousness") will Published by Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal,

20 Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal, Vol. 3 [2015], Iss. 1, Art. 3 tighten your muscles and send your performance down the tubes. Score 1 point for each of the following answers: 7) T 8) F 9) F 10) F 11) T 12) F Section 3, questions deal with your concentration ability. In every sport, your ability to focus on what's important and block out everything else is one of the primary keys to performance excellence. Poor concentration is the major re son why athletes choke and get stuck in performance slumps. Getting psyched out or intimidated is a direct result of concentrating on the wrong things. Score 1 point for each of the following answers: 13) F 14) F 15) F 16) F 17) T 18) F Section 4, questions deal with your level of confidence and the factors that affect confidence. One characteristic of the mentally tough athlete is he/she possesses a confidence level that seems to be unshaken by setbacks and failures. Under the pressure of competition, low confidence will neutralize natural ability, hard work and talent. Similarly, high confidence will enhance an athlete's training and God-given talents, lifting their performance to the next level. Score 1 point for each of the following answers: 19) T 20) F 21) T 22) T 23) F 24) F 18

21 Hayes: Mental Toughness and Coping Strategies in Collegiate Skiers Section 5, questions deal with motivation. Motivation is the fuel that will drive your training to a successful completion and the accomplishment of your goals. Without adequate motivation athletes get stuck having "permanent potential." Without motivation you won't put in the work necessary to become a winner. Your motivation allows you to pick yourself up after a setback and keep going. Score 1 point for each of the following answers: 25)T 26)T 27)T 28)F 29)T 30)T Interpretation: A score of 6 in any one of the five sections indicates a special strength in that area. A 5 indicates solid skill and 4 or less highlights that particular area as a mental weakness that needs to be addressed. For example a "6" in "reboundability" indicates consistent ability to bounce back quickly from mistakes, failures and losses. A score of "2" or "3" in section #2, handling competitive pressure, indicates the need for arousal control/relaxation training. Low scores in each section high light problem areas. These "mental weaknesses" should then form mental training goals for you to help raise your overall performance to the next level. For example, a low score in the concentration section means that some of your poor performance is a direct result of your inability to control your focus of attention before and/or during competition. By putting some time and energy into practicing concentration exercises you will become a better overall athlete. Overall Score: A score of indicates strength in overall mental toughness. Scores of indicates average to moderate skill in mental toughness. Scores of 22 or below mean that you need to start putting more time into the mental training area. Published by Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal,

22 Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal, Vol. 3 [2015], Iss. 1, Art