MENTAL TOUGHNESS AND MOOD STATES IN MALE UNDER-18 FIELD ATHLETES: EVENT-SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES AT THE 2024 SABAH CHAMPIONSHIP
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24191/mjssr.v22i1.7144Keywords:
Mental Toughness, Mood States, Youth Athletes, Field Events, Sabah School Sports Council Championship, Mental Toughness, Mood States, Youth, Athletes, Sabah School Sports Council ChampionshipAbstract
This study explored mental toughness and mood states in 105 male under-18 field sports athletes competing at the 2024 Sabah School Sports Council Championship in terms of differences due to event type, achievement rank, and age. Mental toughness was measured using the Mental Toughness Questionnaire (MTQ18), and mood states were gauged through the Profile of Mood States (POMS). Data analysis included R for factor analysis and SPSS for descriptive statistics, correlation, and analysis of variance. Results indicated that there was a strong negative relationship between mental toughness and negative mood state, particularly tension, indicating that mental toughness aids athletes in coping with competition stress. Javelin throwers exhibited higher mental toughness and less negative mood than high and long jumpers, indicating event-specific demands such as precision and attention. No achievement rank or age differences were revealed, which would have likely resulted from comparable psychological profiles of these youth athletes and the application of ranked categories. Although low MTQ18 reliability was reported (α = 0.351) because of Malay translation problems, its factor structure was preserved on good fit indices (RMSEA = 0.04), allowing cautious interpretation. The POMS proved reliable (α = 0.786), as for Malaysian athletes. These findings, in the context of Malaysian male adolescent athletes, show the importance of individually oriented psychological training, for example, visualization techniques for javelin throwers, and the demand for culturally normative measures.
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