Developing Mental Toughness: From Research to Practice
By Lee Crust, Peter J. Clough. 2011
177 citations recorded by the source corpus.
This article reviews recent evidence concerning the development of mental toughness in young athletes, from first involvement in sport through to early adulthood. The role and importance of genetics, environmental factors, and psychological-skills training in the development of mental toughness is discussed. In particular, environmental factors that can be manipulated and influenced by coaches and parents are emphasized to aid the transfer of knowledge from scientific research into applied practice. Of central importance is the development of independent problem-solving and personal responsibility through a challenging yet supportive learning environment. We argue that to develop mental toughness, young athletes must be gradually exposed to, rather than shielded from, demanding situations in training and competition in order to learn how to cope. Also, as athletes become more emotionally mature, they should become increasingly involved in making decisions regarding their own development. Athletes should be encouraged and supported in reflecting upon setbacks and failures that occur as a natural part of the developmental process. Negative experiences, as well as the confidence-boosting outcomes of achieving goals, provide opportunities for personal growth, and allow important lessons to be learned. Various practical suggestions are provided.
Subfields: Developmental and Educational Psychology, Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Social Psychology
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/cbb917d041e78dbaf8781211a8a24f4017b7251d
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In Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Peter J. Clough
- J. Perry
- Martin A. Littlewood
- Jacquelyn Allen-Collinson
- C. Swann
- David C. Marchant
- C. Cook
- M. Nesti
In Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
In Social Psychology
- Peter J. Clough
- J. Perry
- Martin A. Littlewood
- Jacquelyn Allen-Collinson
- C. Swann
- David C. Marchant
- C. Cook
- M. Nesti
Citations in the corpus
- Relationships between mental toughness and psychological wellbeing in undergraduate students (2015, background): “…the impact upon success and PWB. Whilst the effects of MT interventions have not been widely studied there are some theoretical underpinnings (Crust & Clough, 2011; Gordon, 2012) and empirical work (Gucciardi et al., 2009b) that could be used to adapt interventions from sport to higher…”
- Mental Toughness and Success in Sport: A Review and Prospect (2017, unknown): “1875-399X/17 2017 Bentham Open”
- ‘What it takes’: perceptions of mental toughness and its development in an English Premier League Soccer Academy (2014, background): “Theorists have proposed that mental toughness is best developed using a challenging yet supportive approach (Gucciardi and Mallett 2010, Crust and Clough 2011).”
- Mental toughness in education: exploring relationships with attainment, attendance, behaviour and peer relationships (2015, unknown): “Weinberg & Gould, 2007) was provided by Clough, Earle, and Sewell (2002), and was developed from the concept of hardiness.”