The effect of mental training program on improving mental toughness among tehran high school student athletes

Abstract

The attention to mental training program among young athletes has increased in recent decades. In spite of the significant contribution of mental toughness to perform (Jones et al., 2007), little quantitative research has been dedicated to examining this construct or to improve mental toughness. The present study investigated the effect of mental training program on mental toughness among160 participants of high school male and female student athletes. This research was experimental and the participants were selected randomly. Training consisted of one session per week. Mental toughness was assessed by SMTQ (Sheared & Golby, 2008). Factorial MANCOVA analysis indicated that the mental training program was effective in changing the mental toughness in Tehran high school student athletes involved in different types of sport but was not effective in changing the above factor based on gender.