Mental Toughness and Psychological Well-being in Elite vs Non-elite Collegiate Athletes

Abstract

Mental toughness (MT) and psychological well-being (PWB) are two of the most important aspects not only in an athlete’s sporting career but also in the daily demands of life in order to have optimal functioning and achieve success in sports. This study examined the psychological health and mental toughness of elite and non-elite athletes. The design of this research was a survey, quantitative measures were used. Purposive sampling was employed to collect a sample of 210 athletes from Guru Nanak Dev University, comprising 105 elite athletes and 105 non-elite athletes ranging in age from 18 to 25 years. Psychological general well-being index (PGWBI) and sports mental toughness questionnaire (SMTQ) scales were administered. An independent t-test was used to assess the relevant data and differentiate the results at p<0.05 level. The t-test result showed that there was a significant difference in the level of confidence (sub-dimension of SMTQ) between elite and non-elite athletes. It also indicated a positive correlation between all sub-dimension of scales (PGWBI & SMTQ) in elite athletes, but on the contrary, there was a negative correlation between confidence and control (SMTQ) and no correlation was found in few of the sub-dimensions among non-elite athletes. It can be concluded that the study found a partially significant relationship in psychological well-being and mental toughness between elite and non-elite athletes.