Rainer Wieser
Anglo-European College of Chiropractic, Germany
Title: E-BABE-Encyclopedia of Bioanalytical Methods for Bioavailability and Bioequivalence Studies of Pharmaceuticals
Biography
Biography: Rainer Wieser
Abstract
Design: Survey design, quantitative research.
Background: Recent research findings indicate that mental hardiness can be determined reliably with the use of specific self-assessment questionnaires.
Objectives: The objectives of the present study were to determine the level of mental hardiness in a group of professional soccer players using two established questionnaires (modified Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire (SMTQ-M) and Psychological Performance Inventory (PPI-A)) and to investigate the degree of correlation between the scores of these two measures. Further, the study aimed to establish the level of inter-rater agreement between two coaches in rating the level of mental hardiness of their players, and whether the results of the players’ self-assessments agreed with the coaches’ ratings.
Setting: A professional championship football club in Wales.
Subjects: Convenience sample of 20 professional soccer players and two football coaches.
Methods: After written and witnessed consent, two self-assessment questionnaires (modified PPI-A and SMTQ-M) were completed by the football players. Two coaches, who did not know the outcome scores of the players’ self-assessments, independently rated each player. Each player was awarded a percentage score for each test, and an average percentage score ({SMTQ-M % + PPI-A %} ÷ 2). Mean scores were established for the whole team, International players and Non-International players. The PPI-A and SMTQ-M scores obtained for each player were analyzed for correlation with Pearson’s correlation. The ratings of the coaches were analyzed for agreement with Kappa-statistics. Finally, the data were analyzed with Kappa-statistics to determine whether the players’ self-ratings agreed with the coaches’ ratings.
Results: The average ({SMTQ-M % + PPI-A %} ÷ 2) mean score was 77 %, (SD = 7.98). The independent t-test (p = 0.04) showed that international players scored on average 7.4 % higher than non-international players. The players’ scores obtained from the PPI-A and SMTQ-M correlated well (r = 0.709, p < 0.001). The ratings of the players by the two coaches showed a significant, but weak to moderate agreement (Cohen's kappa = 0.33). No statistical significant agreement was found between player self-assessments and the ratings given by the coaches.
Conclusions: There is significant correlation between SMTQ-M and PPI-A scores. The levels of mental hardiness in professional football players can be assessed with both questionnaires. Higher performers had a slightly higher mental hardiness score. The results would suggest that either coaches were not able to judge the mental hardiness levels of their players appropriately, or that the players over- or under-rated their own mental hardiness and therefore, made it impossible for coaches to concur with the players’ self-ratings.