Demir Gönül Tekkurşun, Namlı Sevinç, Çakır Ergün, Batu Batuhan, Ateş Fatih, Yılmaz Eda, Güvendi Burcu, Adaş Selda Kocamaz, Çağın Musab
Independent researcher, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Faculty of Sports, Department of Physical Training and Sports, Erzurum Technical University, Erzurum, Turkey.
BMC Psychol. 2025 Aug 5;13(1):869. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-03250-6.
Mental toughness (MT), anxiety, and sport imagery (SI) are characteristics that are effective in the ups and downs of athletes' lives. The fact that these three characteristics, which have a direct effect on the performance of athletes (especially elite athletes), have not been examined by structural equation modeling in the literature to the best of our knowledge has led to the need for this study. The present study investigates the relationship between MT, anxiety levels, and SI skills among elite athletes in the 19-26 age group. A total of 407 elite athletes (143 females and 264 males) actively competing participated in the study, which was conducted within the framework of a correlational research model. Data were collected using the Mental Toughness Scale (MTS), the Sports Imagery Inventory (SII) and Anxiety subscale of the Emotion in Sport Scale (ESS). The theoretical model proposed to examine the effects of MT on SI and anxiety was tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). It was found that the fit indices of the model established in the study gave a good fit, and the coefficients obtained were statistically significant (p <.05). The study revealed that athletes with higher MT had lower levels of anxiety and anxiety had a negative effect on SI skills (p <.05). Moreover, athletes with higher MT show high levels of SI abilities (p <.05). The present study suggests that training programs aimed at improving SI skills may also contribute to the development of MT.
心理韧性（MT）、焦虑和运动表象（SI）是对运动员生活起伏具有重要影响的特质。据我们所知，这三种对运动员（尤其是优秀运动员）表现有直接影响的特质，在文献中尚未通过结构方程模型进行研究，因此有必要开展本研究。本研究调查了19至26岁优秀运动员的心理韧性、焦虑水平和运动表象技能之间的关系。共有407名积极参赛的优秀运动员（143名女性和264名男性）参与了本研究，该研究在相关研究模型的框架内进行。使用心理韧性量表（MTS）、运动表象量表（SII）和运动情绪量表（ESS）中的焦虑分量表收集数据。采用结构方程模型（SEM）对所提出的检验心理韧性对运动表象和焦虑影响的理论模型进行了验证。研究发现，本研究建立的模型拟合指数良好，得到的系数具有统计学意义（p <.05）。研究表明，心理韧性较高的运动员焦虑水平较低，且焦虑对运动表象技能有负面影响（p <.05）。此外，心理韧性较高的运动员运动表象能力较强（p <.05）。本研究表明，旨在提高运动表象技能的训练计划可能也有助于心理韧性的发展。
