A influência da idade e tempo da prática de jogo sobre a robustez mental em atletas de voleibol

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to verify the influence of age and playing practice time in mental toughness athletes of female volleyball youth teams and identify common characteristics among the athletes with greater mental toughness that could impair the acquisition of this capacity. They were used as measuring instruments the Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire (SMTQ) to measure the mental toughness, and Experiences Questionnaire and Trajectory. The results showed significant differences between age groups in subscale constancy of mental toughness. The characteristics of the athletes, with greater mental toughness, which were more frequent were: family support, participation in selections, have former athletes in the family, the practice of other sports in childhood and share practice with older athletes. It was concluded that the difference shown between groups in subscale constancy was not explained by age and that the trajectory characteristics of the athletes with greater mental toughness seem to help build this psychological capacity, suggesting that it may be in part developed or improved.