Objectives: The outstanding performance of Paralympic athletes improves their quality of life and resilience. The present study explores the role of mental toughness in predicting resilience and distress tolerance in Paralympic athletes.
Methods: This descriptive and correlational study was conducted on Paralympic athletes who were members of the Iran Sports Federation for the Disabled (IRISFD) and were invited to attend the Paralympic games. The participants were 128 Paralympic athletes (n=60 women and n=68 men) who were selected via the simple random sampling method. The data were collected using the mental toughness questionnaire-48 (MTQ48), the Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC) and the distress tolerance scale (DTS). The collected data were analyzed using the multiple regression analysis by the SPSS software, version 26.
Results: The results showed that mental toughness can predict resilience and distress tolerance in Paralympic athletes. Moreover, mental toughness accounted for 47.8% of the variances in resilience and 28.6% of the variance in distress tolerance. In addition, the analysis of the standard beta coefficients showed that mental toughness can positively and significantly predict resilience and distress tolerance in Paralympic athletes, with β coefficients equal to 0.69 and 0.53, respectively.
Discussion: Mental toughness is a psychological construct that affects the performance and success of Paralympic athletes and increases their resilience and distress tolerance. Thus, a part of the preparation process, namely training and skill development programs for Paralympic games should focus on the mental toughness of athletes.