The role of mental toughness, sport imagery and anxiety in athletic performance: structural equation modelling analysis
Open accessAbstract
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.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Elite athletes may derive greater benefit from imagery due to higher performance experience and psychological preparedness.
“Elite athletes may derive greater benefit from imagery due to higher performance experience and psychological preparedness [112–114].”
From The Effect of Different Psychological Interventions on Athletes' Competitive Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis. (2026) · cites this paper as [114]
The Methods (Research group; page unavailable) describe a sample of elite athletes with substantial competitive experience, and the Introduction says athletes with higher mental toughness may use imagery more effectively. The paper does not show that elite athletes benefit more from imagery than other athletes, or that greater experience and psychological preparedness explain such a difference. (LLM, conf=0.83)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
American Psychiatric Association (2013) · doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596 · Cited by 116,369 · see citing works
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999) · Structural Equation Modeling A Multidisciplinary Journal · doi:10.1080/10705519909540118 · Cited by 108,788 · see citing works
An Index of Factorial Simplicity
Kaiser, H. F. (1974) · Psychometrika · doi:10.1007/bf02291575 · Cited by 14,898 · cited 1× · see citing works
“2 Process diagram of the research (1974), a KMO value below 0.50 is not accepted and a KMO value between 0.90 and 1 indicates an excellent adequacy level of the sample size [48, 49].”
InfluentialTesting Structural Equation Models.
Mueller, C. W., Bollen, K. A., & Long, J. S. (1994) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2074955 · Cited by 14,211 · see citing works
Hu, L.-T., & Bentler, P. M. (1998) · Psychological Methods · doi:10.1037/1082-989x.3.4.424 · Cited by 12,298 · see citing works
Costello, A. B., & Osborne, J. (2005) · University of Massachusetts Amherst · doi:10.7275/jyj1-4868 · Cited by 10,297 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Costello and Osborne (2005) state that if an item loads on both factors, the item should be excluded from the analyses if the difference is less than 0.10 [53].”
InfluentialA First Course in Factor Analysis
Comrey, A. L., & Lee, H. B. (2013) · doi:10.4324/9781315827506 · Cited by 4,546 · see citing works
A Beginner’s Guide to Factor Analysis: Focusing on Exploratory Factor Analysis
Yong, A. G., & Pearce, S. (2013) · Tutorials in Quantitative Methods for Psychology · doi:10.20982/tqmp.09.2.p079 · Cited by 3,304 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Yong and Pearce (2013) argue that in general, the minimum acceptable factor loading value should be 0.32 [51].”
InfluentialHow to Use a Monte Carlo Study to Decide on Sample Size and Determine Power
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (2002) · Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal · doi:10.1207/s15328007sem0904_8 · Cited by 2,362 · see citing works
Psychological Characteristics and Their Development in Olympic Champions
Gould, D. R., Dieffenbach, K. D., & Moffett, A. (2002) · Journal of Applied Sport Psychology · doi:10.1080/10413200290103482 · Cited by 1,186 · cited 1× · see citing works
“In addition, it has been indicated that mental toughness improves with increasing years of experience, which in turn enhances athletes’ abilities to cope with stress [66].”
A Framework of Mental Toughness in the World’s Best Performers
Jones, G., Hanton, S., & Connaughton, D. (2007) · The Sport Psychologist · doi:10.1123/tsp.21.2.243 · Cited by 550 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Jones et al. (2007) also reported that athletes with high MT can use their SI skills more effectively [31].”
The Concept of Mental Toughness: Tests of Dimensionality, Nomological Network, and Traitness
Gucciardi, D. F., Hanton, S., Gordon, S., Mallett, C. J., & Temby, P. (2014) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/jopy.12079 · Cited by 544 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Gucciardi et al. (2014) stated that individuals with strong MT exhibit high levels of control and struggle even in the face of challenging situations and tend to evaluate the problems they face as challenges [68].”
Quantitative Data Analysis with SPSS Release 10 for Windows
Bryman, A. E., & Cramer, D. (2002) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203471548 · Cited by 517 · see citing works
Cole, D. A., & Preacher, K. J. (2013) · Psychological Methods · doi:10.1037/a0033805 · Cited by 469 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Since the method provides a more precise measurement of theoretical concepts [46], it is ideal for the correlation analysis targeted by the research.”
Development and Validation of the Sport Emotion Questionnaire
Jones, M. V., Lane, A. M., Bray, S. R., Uphill, M. A., & Catlin, J. (2005) · Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology · doi:10.1123/jsep.27.4.407 · Cited by 284 · cited 1× · see citing works
“The scale was developed by Jones et al. (2005) and Turkish validity and reliability analyses were conducted by Urfa and Aşçı (2019) [43, 44].”
Mental toughness: progress and prospects
Gucciardi, D. F. (2017) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.03.010 · Cited by 247 · see citing works
Mueller, R. O., & Hancock, G. R. (2018) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315755649-33 · Cited by 191 · see citing works
Gucciardi, D. F., Hanton, S., & Fleming, S. (2016) · Journal of science and medicine in sport · doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2016.08.006 · Cited by 176 · cited 3× · see citing works
“Mental toughness (MT) is conceptualized as a purposeful and adaptable psychological resource that enables individuals to maintain psychological stability and sustain optimal performance under conditions of stress, pressure, and adversity [1].”
InfluentialSport-related Performance Anxiety in Young Female Athletes
Patel, D. R., Omar, H. Α., & Terry, M. J. (2010) · Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology · doi:10.1016/j.jpag.2010.04.004 · Cited by 160 · cited 1× · see citing works
“In the general population, especially among adolescents aged 13–24, the prevalence of anxiety disorders ranges between 6 and 20% [18].”
Gamst, G. C., Meyers, L. S., & Guarino, A. J. (2008) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511801648 · Cited by 153 · see citing works
Josefsson, T., Ivarsson, A., Lindwall, M., Gustafsson, H., Stenling, A., Böröy, J., Mattsson, E., Carnebratt, J., Sevholt, S., & Falkevik, E. (2017) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-017-0711-4 · Cited by 150 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Some studies in the literature [77–79] suggest that the components of motivational general awareness may show a weaker relationship with mental toughness or that this relationship might be strengthened through more indirect pathways.”
Mental Toughness and Success in Sport: A Review and Prospect
Cowden, R. G. (2017) · The Open Sports Sciences Journal · doi:10.2174/1875399x01710010001 · Cited by 133 · cited 5× · see citing works
“Consisting of 11 items and one sub-dimension, the scale is likert-scored as [1] strongly disagree [2] disagree [3] undecided [4] agree [5] strongly agree.”
InfluentialCoaches' views of mental toughness and how it is built
Weinberg, R. S., Butt, J., & Culp, B. (2011) · International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology · doi:10.1080/1612197x.2011.567106 · Cited by 129 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Weinberg et al. (2011) examined the effect of MT on athletes’ SI skills and suggested that athletes with high MT have better SI skills [30].”
The mental health of elite athletes in the United Kingdom
Foskett, R. L., & Longstaff, F. (2017) · Journal of science and medicine in sport · doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2017.11.016 · Cited by 125 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Among elite individual and team athletes, the prevalence of anxiety/ depression is 47.8% [19]; among French elite athletes, the reported prevalence of anxiety diagnosis is 8.6% over the past six months and 12.1% over a lifetime.”
InfluentialMind Over Matter: The Development of the Mental Toughness Scale (MTS)
Madrigal, L. A., Hamill, S. B., & Gill, D. L. (2013) · The Sport Psychologist · doi:10.1123/tsp.27.1.62 · Cited by 90 · cited 1× · see citing works
“The original form of the MTS developed by Madrigal et al. (2013) was adapted into Turkish by Erdoğan (2016) [39, 40].”
Training Visual Imagery: Improvements of Metacognition, but not Imagery Strength
Rademaker, R. L., & Pearson, J. (2012) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00224 · Cited by 87 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Visual imagery refers to the process of mentally simulating a situation or movement through the “mind’s eye” [25].”
Lindsay, R. S., Larkin, P., Kittel, A. B., & Spittle, M. (2021) · Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy · doi:10.1080/17408989.2021.1991297 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Effects of mental toughness on athletic performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Hsieh, Y.-C., Lu, F. J.-H., Gill, D. L., Hsu, Y., Wong, T.-L., & Kuan, G. (2023) · International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology · doi:10.1080/1612197x.2023.2204312 · Cited by 67 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Mental toughness not only contributes directly to enhanced athletic performance but also plays a significant role in regulating emotional responses—particu-larly anxiety—in highly competitive environments [6, 7].”
Applying Sport Psychology: Four Perspectives
Taylor, J., & Wilson, G. S. (2005) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Competition Anxiety in Combat Sports and the Importance of Mental Toughness
Mojtahedi, D., Dagnall, N., Denovan, A., Clough, P., Dewhurst, S. A., Hillier, M., Papageorgiou, K. Α., & Perry, J. L. (2023) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs13090713 · Cited by 55 · cited 3× · see citing works
“Research has shown that athletes with high levels of mental toughness tend to exhibit lower levels of anxiety compared to their peers [8].”
Effect of mental toughness on sporting performance: review of studies
Guszkowska, M., & WÓJCIK, K. (2021) · Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity · doi:10.29359/bjhpa.2021.suppl.2.01 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
The Relationship between Imagery and Competitive Anxiety in Ballet Auditions
Monsma, E. V., & Overby, L. Y. (2004) · Journal of Dance Medicine & Science · doi:10.1177/1089313x0400800102 · Cited by 50 · cited 1× · see citing works
“As a result of the study, it was concluded that imagery techniques were effective in reducing anxiety and increasing performance [75].”
Examining the Relationship Between Mental Toughness and Imagery Use
Mattie, P., & Munroe‐Chandler, K. J. (2012) · Journal of Applied Sport Psychology · doi:10.1080/10413200.2011.605422 · Cited by 45 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Mattie and Munroe-Chandler (2012) found that male athletes perform better in motivational general-mastery (MG-M) imagery, challenge, and commitment, while female athletes are better in motivational general-arousal (MG-A) imagery [80].”
Liu, F., Zhang, Z., Liu, S., & Zhang, N. (2021) · Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine · doi:10.1155/2021/6633658 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Athlete imagery ability: A predictor of confidence and anxiety intensity and direction
Williams, S. E., & Cumming, J. (2015) · International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology · doi:10.1080/1612197x.2015.1025809 · Cited by 36 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Another study by Williams and Cumming (2016) examined how SI ability affects self-confidence and anxiety intensity in athletes [70].”
I Am Conscious, Therefore, I Am: Imagery, Affect, Action, and a General Theory of Behavior
Marks, D. F. (2019) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci9050107 · Cited by 30 · cited 1× · see citing works
“This process allows individuals to mentally recreate an experience through visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory, or gustatory senses [22].”
Mental Toughness dan Competitive Anxiety pada Atlet Bola Voli
Algani, P. W., Yuniardi, M. S., & Masturah, A. N. (2018) · Jurnal Ilmiah Psikologi Terapan · doi:10.22219/jipt.v6i1.5433 · Cited by 29 · cited 1× · see citing works
“MT appears to be an important factor that may help in reducing anxiety during competitions; however, its exact role and mechanisms require further investigation [64, 65].”
Yang, L., Zhang, Z., Zhang, J., & Veloo, A. (2024) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-024-01888-2 · Cited by 28 · cited 1× · see citing works
“This psychological state comprises both cognitive and somatic components, each of which may adversely affect athletic performance [12].”
Lin, H., Lin, T., Ling, Y., & Lo, C. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph182211767 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Mental Imagery in Social Anxiety in Children and Young People: A Systematic Review
Chapman, J., Halldorsson, B., & Creswell, C. (2020) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10567-020-00316-2 · Cited by 22 · cited 1× · see citing works
“In a systematic review study conducted by Chapman et al. (2020), a strong relationship was found between social anxiety and mental SI in children and young people, and it was concluded that individuals with high social anxiety created worse SI [72].”
Mental Toughness Scale (MTS): The Study of Adaptation to Turkish, Validity and Reliability Study
ERDOĞAN, N. (2016) · International Journal of Sport Culture and Science · doi:10.14486/intjscs588 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Yarayan, Y. E., Solmaz, S., Aslan, M., Batrakoulis, A., Al-Mhanna, S. B., & Keskin, K. (2024) · Sports · doi:10.3390/sports12060141 · Cited by 20 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Yarayan et al. (2024) also investigated whether there is a difference between SI and MT levels in the context of sports performance [81].”
Relationship between competitive anxiety and mental toughness: a latent regression analysis
Kalinin, R., Balázsi, R., Péntek, I., Duică, Ș., & Hanțiu, I. (2019) · Health Sports & Rehabilitation Medicine · doi:10.26659/pm3.2019.20.2.70 · Cited by 19 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Kalinin et al. (2019) also emphasized in their study that MT athletes tend to be less anxious and that any intervention to increase MT will indirectly contribute to the reduction of sports anxiety levels [10].”
Mental imagery and stress: the mediating role of self-efficacy in competitive martial arts athletes
Corrado, D. D., Tortella, P., Coco, M., Guarnera, M. A., Tušak, M., & Parisi, M. C. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1517718 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Benjamin, L. J. M., & Wang, J. (2021) · Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.ajsep.2021.09.001 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Anxiety and Depression during COVID-19 in Elite Rugby Players: The Role of Mindfulness Skills
Myall, K., Montero‐Marín, J., & Kuyken, W. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph182211940 · Cited by 16 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Some studies in the literature [77–79] suggest that the components of motivational general awareness may show a weaker relationship with mental toughness or that this relationship might be strengthened through more indirect pathways.”
Impact of Sports Anxiety on Sports Performance of Players
Bukhari, F. K., Fahd, S., Tahira, R., & Yaseen, M. (2021) · Pakistan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences · doi:10.52131/pjhss.2021.0903.0163 · Cited by 13 · cited 1× · see citing works
“It is stated that anxiety is a significant predictor of sports performance among athletes, and there is a significant negative relationship between sports anxiety and sports performance among players [13].”
Liu, M., Deng, Y., Wu, B., Zhou, L., & Zhang, Y. (2023) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-023-04606-0 · Cited by 13 · cited 1× · see citing works
“In the study conducted by Liu et al. (2024) during the COVID-19 pandemic period, it was concluded that low SI levels in individuals caused a high degree of anxiety [71].”
Zihinsel Dayanıklılık: İmgeleme ve Duygusal Zekânın Rolü
Akgül, A., Solmaz, S., Uzun, A., & Yarayan, Y. E. (2024) · The Online Journal of Recreation and Sport · doi:10.22282/tojras.1465496 · Cited by 10 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Akgül et al. (2024), in a study on national athletes in different sports branches, found that SI positively affected MT [84].”
Moore, R. D., Kay, J., Gunn, B. S., Harrison, A. T., Torres-McGehee, T. M., & Pontifex, M. B. (2023) · Psychology of sport and exercise · doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2023.102418 · Cited by 7 · cited 1× · see citing works
“This increases their level of anxiety [14].”
Katz, A., Shulkin, A., Talbo, M. K., Housni, A., Yardley, J. E., Brazeau, A., & RABASA-LHORET, R. P. R. (2023) · Diabetes & Metabolism · doi:10.1016/j.diabet.2023.101476 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
An Investigation into the Relationship Between Musical Imagery and Anxiety
Ulor, M. N., Bailes, F., & O'Connor, D. B. (2022) · Imagination Cognition and Personality · doi:10.1177/02762366221083234 · Cited by 5 · cited 1× · see citing works
“In another study, the relationship between musical imagery and anxiety was investigated and it was shown that individuals with high anxiety levels experienced more frequent and negatively evaluated musical imagery [73].”
Resilience and mental toughness as predictors of anxiety, depression, and mental well-being
Naden, E., Schepman, A., Bilton, G., & Rodway, P. (2023) · Mental Wellness · doi:10.4081/mw.2023.2 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Mental Toughness in Sports PeoplePreprint
Dorling, J., & Bahr, M. (2024) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/9bhnu · Cited by 5 · see citing works
van den Berg, K. C., ten Bloemendal, E., Hendrickson, A. T., Simplicio, M. C. D., Voncken, M. J., Aalbers, G., & Keijsers, G. P. J. (2024) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.3050 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Mental toughness as predictor of state anxiety of Serbian athletes
Zubić, I. (2021) · Exercise and Quality of Life · doi:10.31382/eqol.211203 · Cited by 4 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Zubić, (2021), on the other hand, stated that MT is significantly effective in reducing cognitive and somatic anxiety and claimed that developing MT is the right approach for better performance in competitions [63].”
Comprehensive Evaluation of Imagination's Impact on Psychological Strength in Sports Education
Vashisht, N., Shukla, N., Hashmi, S., Guntaj, J., Sunil Kumar, M., Garg, A., & Chakravarthy, S. (2024) · Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture · doi:10.70082/esiculture.vi.1130 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Ibrahim, A. D., & Jasmi, K. A. (2018) · International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences · doi:10.6007/ijarbss/v8-i6/4266 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Hubungan antara Mental Toughness dengan Competitive Anxiety pada Atlet Futsal
Ismail, G. Z., Yulianti, S., & Priambodo, A. (2023) · Journal of Psychological Science and Profession · doi:10.24198/jpsp.v7i2.43462 · Cited by 1 · cited 1× · see citing works
“MT appears to be an important factor that may help in reducing anxiety during competitions; however, its exact role and mechanisms require further investigation [64, 65].”
Flagged first, then by citations
4 of the 63 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 22
- [3]Clough P, Earle K, Sewell D. (2002). Mental toughness: The concept and its measurement. In I. Cockerill, editor, Solutions in sport psychology (pp. 32–43). Thomson.
- [11]Răzvan K, Róbert B, Imre P, Iacob H. Relationship between mental toughness, stress, anxiety and depression. Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Educatio Artis Gymnasticae. 2021;66(1). 10.24193/subbeag.66(1). · DOI
- [15]Volgemute K, Vazne Z, Krauksta D, Cosma GA. The improvement of athletes’ imagery ability and physical self-efficacy for the growth of athletic achievements in sport model. J Phys Educ Sport. 2023;23(3):748–55. 10.7752/jpes.2023.03092 · DOI
- [17]Fauzan HA, Komarudin K, Subarjah H, Hadiyani W, Dolifah D. (2025). Effects of PETTLEP imagery training on competitive anxiety and Self-Confidence in badminton athletes. Annals Appl Sport Sci, 0–0.
- [21]Cumming J, Ramsey R. Imagery interventions in sport. In: Mellalieu SD, Hanton S, editors. Advances in applied sport psychology: A review. Routledge; 2008. pp. 5–36.
- [23]MacIntyre TE, Moran AP. Meta-imagery, sports psychology and mental training. In: Guillot A, Collet C, editors. The neurophysiological foundations of mental and motor imagery. Oxford University Press; 2010. pp. 287–303. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199546251.003.0021. · DOI
- [26]Miller MW, Guttman J, MacPherson AC. Mental rehearsal and imagery: applications in sport and performance. J Appl Sport Psychol. 2010;22(2):115–33.
- [28]Ramsey R, Cumming J, Edwards MG. Mental imagery inflates performance expectations but not actual performance of a novel and challenging motor task. Imagination Cognition Personality. 2009;28(4):331–47. 10.2190/IC.28.4. · DOI
- [32]Budnik-Przybylska D, Przybylski J, Krawczyński M, Nowicki D. Odporność Psychiczna i Wizualizacja a Poczucie Lęku w sportach Indywidualnych i Zespołowych. Przegląd Psychologiczny. 2018;61(1):127–36.
- [34]Creswell JW. A concise introduction to mixed methods research. SAGE; 2021.
- [36]Kline P. An easy quide to factor analysis. Routledge; 1994.
- [41]Hall CR, Mack D, Paivio A, Hausenblas H. Imagery use by athletes: development of the sport imagery questionnaire. Int J Sport Psycol. 1998;29:73–89.
- [42]Kızıldağ E, Tiryaki MŞ. Adaptation of imagery in sport inventory for Turkish athletes. J Sport Sci. 2012;23(1):13–23.
- [44]Urfa O, Aşçı FH. Sport emotion scale: validity and reliability study. Spormetre J Phys Educ Sport Sci. 2019;17(4):42–55.
- [45]Mueller RO, Hancock GR. Structural equation modelling. The reviewer’s guide to quantitative methods in the social sciences. Routledge; 2018. pp. 445–56.
- [47]Tavşancıl E. (2006) Measurement of attitudes and data analysis with SPSS (3rd Edition) Nobel Publishing Distribution, 16–156.
- [52]Schermelleh-Engel K, Moosbrugger H, Müller H. Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods Psychol Res Online. 2003;8(2):23–74.
- [54]Kline RB. Principles and practice of structural equation modelling. The Guilford Press; 2011.
- [58]Byrne BM. Structural equation modelling with AMOS. New York: Routledge; 2010.
- [61]Drăgoi C. Study regarding the effectiveness of sport climbing to increase certain strength parameters in junior soccer players. Gymnasium. 2019;20(1):98–109. 10.29081/gsjesh.2019.20.1. · DOI
- [62]Barrington N, Hancock R, Clough P. (2019). Impact of a toughness programme on pupil anxiety, depression and mental toughness. Middle East Journal of Positive Psychology, 5(1), 60–81. https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6967-8585.
- [76]Omar-Fauzee MS, Daud WRBW, Abdullah R, Rashid SA. The effectiveness of imagery and copingstrategies in sport performance. Eur J SocialSciences. 2009;9(1):97–108.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Li, L., Wang, J., Li, Q., & Fu, Q. (2026) · Sports Medicine - Open · doi:10.1186/s40798-026-01007-y · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“Elite athletes may derive greater benefit from imagery due to higher performance experience and psychological preparedness [112–114].”
Kaygının Spor Performansı Üzerindeki Rolü: Sporcular Üzerine Bir Değerlendirme
Kartal, R. (2025) · Özgür Yayınları eBooks · doi:10.58830/ozgur.pub1065.c4793 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Быков, А. В. (2026) · Modern Humanities Success · doi:10.58224/2618-7175-2026-6-208-214 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Duyan, M., Günel, İ., Özoğlu, F., Reyhan, S., Çelik, T., Ok, G., Musa, M., & Giuriato, M. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1848217 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“While Demir et al. (2025) used structural equation modeling to examine the relationships among mental toughness, sport imagery, anxiety, and athletic performance, their study had several differences from the present investigation.”
Малинаускас, Р. К., Pocius, E., Saulius, T., & Malinauskiene, V. A. (2026) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.106170
Duyan, M., Özoğlu, F., Tekin, G., Günel, İ., Çelik, T., Reyhan, S., Ok, G., & Chang, J. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1793186
Shapri, J. @. A., Wazir, M. R. W. N., & Nazarudin, M. N. (2026) · International Journal of Education Psychology and Counseling · doi:10.35631/ijepc.1162066
Deng, Z., Sun, Z., Wu, Y., Wu, J., Pan, P., Wei, L., & Song, X. (2026) · Science and Medicine in Football · doi:10.1080/24733938.2026.2682128
Murhij, A. J. (2026) · Academia Open · doi:10.21070/acopen.11.2026.15631
Sporcularda Duygusal Zekâ ve Liderlik Özelliklerinin Araştırılması
Güler, M. Ş., KARADEMİR, İ., & Ayan, M. E. (2026) · Özgür Yayınları eBooks · doi:10.58830/ozgur.pub1420.c5736
Mapping the use of mental imagery for stress management in athletes: a scoping review
Zhao, L., Wang, Y., & Anuar, N. A. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1931753
“…407 elite athletes in Türkiye, imagery assessed with the Sports Imagery Inventory was associated with mental toughness and with competitive anxiety (Demir et al., 2025), and in 58 student-athletes in Pakistan healing imagery was examined as a distinct measured construct in relation to competitive…”
Turhal, S. N., Öz, F., GÜL, O., ŞAHİNLER, Y., Belli, I., & Bayansalduz, M. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1955354
“The second finding is consistent with previous research linking higher mental toughness with lower anxiety and more favourable psychological functioning (Demir et al., 2025; Mojtahedi et al., 2021; Naden et al., 2023).”
- Authors
- Demir, G. T., Namlı, S., Çakır, E., Batu, B., Ateş, F., Yılmaz, E., Güvendi, B., Adaş, S. K., & Çağın, M.
- Affiliations
- Van Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi (TR)
- Kafkas University (TR)
- Erzurum Technical University (TR)
- Yalova University (TR)
- Istanbul Aydın University (TR)
- Gazi University (TR)
- Corresponding author
- Çağın, Musab
- ORCID
- Venue
- BMC Psychology
- Published
- 2025-08-05
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 869-869
- ISSN
- 2050-7283 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC12326591
- OpenAlex
- W4412976735
- Cited by
- 12
- References
- 63
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 1
- FWCI
- 23.87
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- BMC Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Van Yüzüncü Yıl University Academic Data Management System (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Sport Psychology and Performance
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychological Treatments and Assessments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
- Keywords
- mental toughness, sport imagery, anxiety, athletic performance, elite athletes, sport psychology
- MeSH terms
- Latent Class Analysis, Adult, Anxiety, Female, Humans, Imagination, Male, Athletic Performance, Young Adult, Athletes
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
