Examining the Relationship Between Mental Toughness and Imagery Use

Abstract

Mental toughness is an important characteristic contributing to athletic excellence (Jones, Hanton, & Connaughton, 2007), yet little quantitative research has examined how psychological skills such as imagery contribute to its development. The present study investigated the relationship between mental toughness with imagery in a sample of varsity athletes (N = 151, M_age = 20.70). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that imagery use significantly predicted mental toughness. Specifically, motivational general-mastery imagery emerged as the strongest individual predictor for all dimensions of mental toughness (β = .45-.53), thus, providing support for imagery use as a potential strategy for developing or enhancing mental toughness in athletes.