What is this thing called mental toughness? An investigation of Elite Sport Performers

The literature on mental toughness is characterized by a general lack of conceptual clarity and consensus as to its definition, as well as a general failure to operationalize the construct in a consistent manner. This study addressed two fundamental issues surrounding mental tough-ness: how can it be defined? and what are the essential attributes required to be a mentally tough performer? Ten international performers participated in either a focus group or one-to-one interviews, from which a definition of mental toughness and the attributes of the ideal mentally tough performer emerged. The resulting definition emphasized both general and spe-cific dimensions, while the 12 attributes covered self-belief, desire/motivation, dealing with pressure and anxiety, focus (performance-related), focus (lifestyle-related), and pain/hardship factors. Mental toughness is probably one of the most used but least understood terms used in applied sport psychology. The literature includes numerous contributions dedicated to the notion of developing mentally tough performers (e.g., Bull, Albinson, & Shambrook, 1996; Gibson, 1998; Goldberg, 1998; Loehr, 1995), but the widely-differing definitions and result-ing operationalization have only served to induce confusion rather than clarity. Proposed defi-nitions include: an ability to cope with or handle pressure, stress, and adversity (Goldberg