Examination of mental toughness and success motivations in defense sports

MMental toughness and success motivation are two concepts that are interrelated and can affect each other. In both of these concepts, parameters such as resilience and success in the face of difficulties are emphasized. In this study, it was aimed to examine the mental toughness and success motivation levels of athletes doing self-defense sports in terms of some variables. The population of this study, modeled with the relational screening design, consists of athletes who have been engaged in self-defense sports for at least one year in Turkey. The sample of the study; A total of 379 (45% women and 55% men) athletes from the branches of judo, karate and taekwondo. In order to collect data in the study, a Personal Information Form prepared by the researcher, a 4-points Likert-type Mental Toughness Inventory consisting of 14 items, and a 5-points Athlete Success Motivation Scale consisting of 40 items were used. Along with descriptive statistics in the analysis of the data; Pearson correlation, regression, independent samples t-test, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) techniques were used. The analyzes were performed with the SPSS computer package program, and the statistical significance level was accepted as p<0.05. According to the findings obtained in the study, there is a significant difference between the mental toughness and success motivation levels of the defensive athletes according to gender, age, sports age, educational status and branch variables; There was no significant difference according to the national athlette status variable. Additionally, a positive and significant relationship was found between athletes' mental toughness and success motivation levels. It has been determined that the mental toughness of the athletes is a significant predictor of success motivation. Accordingly, it can be said that the success motivation levels of the athletes with high mental toughness may also be high.