Mental Toughness Just Got Easier to Assess

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Mental toughness (MT) is more than having a high pain threshold, lots of grit, or the ability to grin and bear it.

Last year, I reported on research by Kostas Papageorgiou and colleagues in the UK that linked higher degrees of mental toughness with being less depressed and better able to cope with stress.

Papageorgiou opened my eyes to the work of Peter Clough, who characterizes MT as a composite of four interrelated but independent components he refers to as "The 4Cs Model" of mental toughness.

What are the 4C's of mental toughness? Clough identified the 4C's of MT as independent but correlated mental toughness factors that all begin with the letter C. Challenge refers to reframing potential threats as opportunities for growth and mastery; commitment reflects persistence in the pursuit of goals despite obstacles or setbacks; control includes emotion regulation and stress-coping mechanisms; having confidence is self-explanatory.

The 18-item Mental Toughness Questionnaire (MTQ-18) is a shortened assessment of mental toughness based on the much longer MTQ-48, which is a 48-item questionnaire rooted in the 4C mental toughness factors.

This week, a research team led by Neil Dagnall—that includes Papageorgiou and Clough—unveiled a detailed analysis of an even shorter and streamlined 10-item Mental Toughness Questionnaire called "MTQ-10."

These findings (Dagnall et al., 2019) were published on August 21 in the journal Frontiers in Psychology. In an email exchange, Dagnall told me, "The new MTQ-10 measure is an improvement on the freely available MTQ-18."

"The MTQ-10 provides a brief, easy to administer measure that lends itself to regular completion," the authors said. "Hence, the MTQ-10 will enable researchers to readily assess temporal stability, investigate the effect of intervening factors (i.e., training), and test MT levels across multiple time points and settings."

The MTQ-10 is based on a selection of the highest line-adding items in each of the 4C dimensions of challenge, commitment, control, and confidence. All of the MTQ questionnaires use a five-point Likert scale. The overall score provides a psychometric assessment of mental toughness.

Items on the MTQ-10

1. Even when under considerable pressure, I usually remain calm.
2. I tend to worry about things well before they actually happen.
3. I usually find it hard to summon enthusiasm for the tasks I have to do.
4. I generally cope well with any problems that occur.
5. I generally feel that I am a worthwhile person.
6. "I just don't know where to begin" is a feeling I usually have when presented with several things to do at once.
7. When I make mistakes, I usually let it worry me for days after.
8. I generally feel in control.
9. I am generally able to react quickly when something unexpected happens.
10. I generally look on the bright side of life.

How would you respond to each of these 10 items using the Likert scaling method? Do you 1) strongly disagree, 2) disagree, 3) neither agree nor disagree, 4) agree, or 5) strongly agree with each specific prompt?

Neil Dagnall explained how someone's responses to the MTQ-10 have a practical application via email:

"We view MT as a general construct and use the 4C framework for reflection and development. At the heart of this is an emphasis on positivity (i.e., viewing barriers as hurdles, obstacles as challenges, etc.). The focus is on empowering individuals to adopt an internal locus of control, facilitating a sense of self-belief, and focusing on their self-efficacy. Obviously, this can vary across people. Hence, the 4C framework is useful for examining strengths and potential weaknesses (areas of development)."

The authors speculate that MT is a "plastic" and reshapable personality trait that is not set in stone; mental toughness is malleable. One of the most exciting aspects of MTQ psychometric assessments is that having these scores could make it easier to help people fortify mental toughness.

This paper (2019) by Dagnall and associates concludes, "Mental toughness is 'trainable' to the extent that people can learn to adopt non-preferential behaviors. In this context, the short MT measures provide expedient, accessible, and easy to interpret indexes for assessing levels of MT in everyday situations (i.e., sport, educational, and occupational)."