Exploring the Relationship Between Mental Toughness and Self-Compassion in the Context of Sport Injury: A Mixed Methods Approach

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between mental toughness and self-compassion in a sport injury context. To gain a deeper understanding of their relationship, coping resources, self-criticism, and self-esteem were also incorporated into the analyses. A cross-sectional sequential explanatory mixed methods approach was used to address this purpose. In the quantitative phase, men and women athletes who were currently injured (n = 81) completed measures of mental toughness, self-compassion, coping resources, self-esteem, and self-criticism. Results from a hierarchical multiple regression analysis found self-compassion is a significant predictor of mental toughness (ΔR2 = .07, p < .01), coping resources (ΔR2 = .10, p < .01), and self-criticism (ΔR2 = .06, p < .01), beyond the effects of age and self-esteem. Four athletes made up the collective case study. The athletes scored above the sample median on mental toughness and self-compassion measures, self-identified as being mentally tough and self-compassionate in the quantitative phase, and were currently injured participated in semi-structured interviews in the qualitative phase. In the qualitative phase, the athletes described how self-compassion was needed to be mentally tough and that mental toughness was needed to be self-compassionate in sport. These findings are consistent with recent research (see Wilson et al., 2019) that suggests self-compassion is needed to be mentally tough, and vice versa. Future research may look to observe the relationship between mental toughness and self-compassion over time.