Esports, mental toughness, & resilience: Psychological predictors of performance may fall short

Abstract

This cross-sectional study examined whether mental toughness and resilience were associated with competitive achievement among 480 high-level esports players (M age = 22.88, SD = 3.94) across seven popular titles, including Multiplayer Online Battle Arena and First-Person Shooter games. Participants, drawn from the top 40 % of competitive ranks, completed the Mental Toughness Questionnaire 18 and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 10. Ordinal logistic regression was used to estimate associations and potential moderation by gender and game type. Neither mental toughness (β = −0.001, p = .928) nor resilience (β = −0.024, p = .159) was significantly associated with achievement level, and no moderating effects were detected. Model fit was low (McFadden's pseudo-R2 = .004 for the direct model; .005 for the interaction model), indicating negligible explanatory value. These null findings suggest that traditional sports psychology measures may not capture the psychological attributes most relevant to digital competition. The results highlight the need to develop and validate esports-specific constructs and tools that reflect the unique cognitive, social, and tactical demands of competitive gaming. Future research should explore alternative variables, longitudinal designs, and mixed-methods approaches to better understand the psychological determinants of esports performance.