RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PHYSICAL FITNESS AND MENTAL TOUGHNESS IN ADOLESCENT COMBAT SPORT ATHLETES
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Abstract
Background
Adolescent combat sport performance unfolds under immediate physical and psychological pressure. Although mental toughness is conceptualized as a multidimensional and context-sensitive regulatory capacity, limited research has distinguished between dynamic performance capacities such as agility and aerobic fitness and structural physical attributes such as strength and body composition when examining their relationships with psychological dimensions in adolescent athletes.
Purpose
This study examined whether components of physical fitness demonstrate selective associations with four dimensions of mental toughness including self-efficacy, task focus, perseverance, and stress minimization in adolescent combat sport athletes.
Methods
A cross-sectional correlational design was conducted with 139 athletes aged 11 to 18 years. Physical fitness was assessed using standardized protocols from the Sports Authority of Thailand, including agility, muscular strength, power, flexibility, cardiorespiratory fitness, and body fat percentage. Mental toughness was measured using the Thai Mental Toughness Questionnaire for Athletes. Pearson correlations were calculated with significance set at p<.05.
Results
Agility showed significant positive correlations with self-efficacy (r=.19, p=.025), task focus (r=.27, p=.001), perseverance (r=.29, p<.001), and stress minimization (r=.24, p=.005). Cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with self-efficacy (r=.25, p=.003) and stress minimization (r=.18, p=.038). Muscular strength, explosive power, flexibility, and body composition were not significantly related to mental toughness dimensions (p>.05). All significant correlations were small (r<.30).
Conclusion
Dynamic performance capacities showed modest and selective relationships with certain psychological regulatory dimensions, whereas structural physical attributes were not associated. These findings support a conceptual distinction between dynamic performance capacities and structural physical attributes in adolescent combat sport development, indicating that physical fitness explains only a limited proportion of psychological resilience.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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