Abstract
Cohesion bridges psychological and tactical aspects of how teams are structured and operate, significantly influencing both individual and team performance. Research has highlighted its particularly strong impact on women’s athletic success. Studies also show that women tend to prioritize social harmony, resolve conflicts collaboratively, and rely more on interpersonal relationships for team cohesion. While task-related cohesion (e.g., achieving performance goals) is often stable in elite athletes, social cohesion remains a malleable area for intervention. Mental toughness (MT), a trainable personal capacity, is theorized to enhance performance consistency under stress. However, MT’s role in fostering team cohesion, particularly social cohesion, remains underexplored in female sports teams. PURPOSE: To examine whether social cohesion responds differently than task cohesion to an MT intervention, and to identify which MT key dimensions contribute to improvements in social cohesion among elite female athletes. METHODS: A longitudinal study (T0–T5) was conducted with a convenience sample of 33 female collegiate dancers participating in weekly MT workshops over 6 weeks. Workshops focused on education and skill acquisition of MT’s eight key dimensions (e.g., buoyancy, emotion regulation, facing adversity). The Mental Toughness Index (MTI) served to weekly measure MT levels. Cohesion was also assessed weekly using the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ; four subscales), which measures (A) social cohesion: (i) Individual Attraction to Group–Social (ATGS; range: 4–36) and (ii) Group Integration–Social (GIS; range: 4–36); and (B) task cohesion: (iii) Individual Attraction to Group–Task (ATGT; range: 5–45) and (iv) Group Integration–Task (GIT; range: 5–45). A linear mixed-effects model was employed in MATLAB to analyze changes in overall MT, MT key dimensions, overall cohesion, and GEQ subscales. RESULTS: Social cohesion improved: ATGS: F(1,32) = 9.85, p = .004; GIS: F(1,32) = 4.32, p = .042. Task cohesion did not change (Ceiling Effect): ATGT: F(1,32) = 1.23, p = .27. GIT: F(1,32) = 0.78, p =.38. The MT key dimensions contributing to social cohesion improvements included: (1) Emotion Regulation: ATGS: β = 0.85, p = .005; GIS: β = 0.68, p = .021 and (2) Overcoming Adversity: ATGS: β = 0.64, p = .034; GIS: β = 0.55, p = .048. CONCLUSION: The MT intervention successfully enhanced social cohesion by improving two MT key dimensions, emotion regulation and facing adversity. These findings support previous research suggesting that athletes who effectively manage emotions and overcome adversity foster stronger social bonds, build greater team trust, and create more cohesive and resilient team environments through shared challenges and mutual support. Given the strong link between cohesion and performance in female athletes, these findings emphasize the potential value of integrating MT strategies into team development programs. Future research should further explore gender-specific approaches to optimizing cohesion and performance in female sports teams across different sports and settings.
Recommended Citation
Barber, Alex J.; Cavan, Spencer A.; and Stamatis, Andreas
(2025)
"Mental Toughness as a Catalyst for Social Team Cohesion: A Longitudinal Study in Female Collegiate Dancers,"
International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 2:
Iss.
17, Article 145.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss17/145
