Progress Toward Construct Validation of the Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire (SMTQ)
Abstract
This study examines the construct validity of an original self-report instrument for the assessment of mental toughness: the Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire (SMTQ). Two independent studies supported a three-factor (Confidence, Constancy, and Control) 14-item model for the SMTQ. With a sample of 633 athletes (427 males, 206 females; M age = 21.5 years; SD = 5.48), drawn from 25 sport classifications, and competing at international, national, county and provincial, or club and regional standards, the first study utilized item development and exploratory factor analytic techniques to establish the psychometric properties of the SMTQ. Study 2 employed confirmatory factor analytic techniques with an independent sample of 509 sports performers (351 males, 158 females; M age = 20.2 years; SD = 3.35), competing at the aforementioned standards, and representative of 26 sports. Confirmatory analysis using structural equation modeling confirmed the overall structure. A single factor underlying mental toughness (Gmt) was identified with higher-order exploratory factor analysis using the Schmid-Leiman procedure. Collectively, satisfying absolute and incremental fit-index benchmarks, the inventory was shown to possess satisfactory psychometric properties, with adequate reliability, divergent validity, and discriminative power. The results revealed promising features of the SMTQ, lending preliminary support to the instrument’s factorial validity and reliability. Further construct validation of the SMTQ is recommended, including its use as an index for evaluating the effect of intervention programs.
References
(1997). Psychological testing (7th ed.). New York: Prentice-Hall.
(2006). Code of ethics and conduct. Leicester, England: Author.
(2006). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. New York: Guilford.
(1995). Estimates and tests in structural equation modeling. In , Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues, and applications (pp. 158–175). London: Sage.
(1995). Constructing validity: Basic issues in objective scale development. Psychological Assessment, 7, 309–319.
(2002). Mental toughness: The concept and its measurement. In , Solutions in sport psychology (pp. 32–45). London: Thomson.
(2005). Best practices in exploratory factor analysis: Four recommendations for getting the most from your analysis. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, 10, 1–9.
(2007). Mental toughness in sport: A review. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 5, 270–290.
(2002). The development and maintenance of expert athletic performance: Perceptions of World and Olympic champions. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 14, 154–171.
(2001). The Ottawa Mental Skills Assessment Tool (OMSAT-3*). The Sport Psychologist, 15, 1–19.
(2006). Affect in social thinking and behavior. New York: Psychology Press.
(2002). Development of a questionnaire for the assessment of coping strategies employed by athletes in competitive sport settings. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 3, 1–34.
(2007). Multifactor modeling in individual differences research: Some recommendations and suggestions. Personality and Individual Differences, 42, 37–48.
(2004). Mental toughness and hardiness at different levels of rugby league. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 933–942.
(2003). A cognitive-behavioral analysis of mental toughness in national rugby league football teams. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 96, 455–462.
(2007). Evaluating the factor structure of the Psychological Performance Inventory (PPI). Perceptual and Motor Skills, 105, 309–325.
(2002). Psychological characteristics and their development in Olympic champions. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 14, 172–204.
(2004). Factor retention decisions in exploratory factor analysis: A tutorial on parallel analysis. Organizational Research Methods, 7, 191–205.
(2002). What is this thing called mental toughness? An investigation of elite sport performers. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 14, 205–218.
(1993). LISREL 8: Structural equation modeling with the SIMPLIS command language. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
(1995). Experimental design (3rd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
(2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.
(2007). The construct of impulsivity revisited. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 681–691.
(1986). Mental toughness training for sports: Achieving athletic excellence. Lexington, MA: Stephen Greene Press.
(2006). Building an integrated positive psychology. Journal of Positive Psychology, 1, 226–229.
(2001). Personal views survey (3rd ed., rev.). Newport Beach, CA: The Hardiness Institute.
(2002). A multidimensional physical self-concept: A construct validity approach to theory, measurement, and research. The Journal of the Hellenic Psychological Society, 9, 459–493.
(2004, July). Developing the Mental Toughness Inventory (MTI). Poster session presented at the meeting of the International Conference on Self-Concept, Motivation, and Identity: Where to Go From Here? Berlin, Germany.
(2008). Mental toughness, optimism, pessimism, and coping among athletes. Personality and Individual Differences, 44, 1182–1192.
(2002). In search of underlying dimensions: The use (and abuse) of factor analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 1629–1646.
(1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): A reevaluation of the life orientation test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1063–1078.
(1957). The development of hierarchical factor solutions. Psychometrika, 22, 53–61.
(2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5–14.
(2006a). Effect of a psychological skills training program on swimming performance and positive psychological development. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 4, 149–169.
(2006b). The efficacy of an outdoor adventure education curriculum on selected aspects of psychological development. Journal of Experiential Education, 29, 187–209.
(2007). Using multivariate statistics (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
(2004). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis: Understanding concepts and applications. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
(1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063–1070.
