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ADVANCING THE SELF-VERIFICATION THEORY IN FEMALE ROWERS THROUGH THE LENS OF MENTAL TOUGHNESS: IMPLICATIONS FOR POSITIVE SPORT PSYCHOLOGY

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In Positive Psychology (PP), Mental Toughness (MT) and Self-Verification (SV) concepts are linked to individual well-being. MT is critical for sports success; yet, its role in female rowing is underexplored. SV theory suggests people seek confirmation of their self-views, offering insights into athlete-coach dynamics. Earlier pioneering research from our group in MT and SV among female rowers showed athletes sought self-view-aligned associations. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to enrich the emerging literature in understanding SV’s theory applicability in PP and MT’s role in female rowing. METHODS: Division II rowers (n = 12) completed the Mental Toughness Index (MTI) prior four in-season 2K races. Athletes self-evaluated their MT, provided responses on MTIs reflecting the perspectives of both their Head and Assistant coaches, and indicated their preferred coach for interaction. To assess differences between the preferred Zacharias Papadakis1 collaborator coach and the coach whose perceived MTI scores closely matched the athletes' self-assessments, four chi-square tests were conducted using Jamovi version 2.4.8, with a significance level of p < 0.05. Similarity in MTI scores was evaluated by identifying the smallest absolute difference between coach and athlete scores. In cases of equal differences, preference was determined based on the smallest absolute difference relative to the maximum possible MTI score. RESULTS: The McNemar paired-samples test conducted for each of the four trials (#1st x2 = 0.1, p = 0.7; (#2nd x2 < 0.001, p = 1; #3rd x2 = 0.2, p = 0.7; #4th x2 < 0.001, p = 1) indicated no significant differences between the preferred coach for collaboration and the coach selected based on SV theory. CONCLUSION: These findings provide additional support for the relevance of MT and SV in the context of female rowers. Specifically, in terms of MT, this study demonstrated that athletes' choices for collaboration with coaches did not significantly differ from the coaches expected based on SV theory in four distinct instances. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the potential implications of SV theory in Positive Sport Psychology and underscores the significance of comprehending how self-views can impact relationships in sports contexts.

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