RESUMEN
Mental toughness is a psychological construct related to successful performance in academics, management, and sports among other sectors. However, studies on the determinants of mental toughness with respect to different human endeavours have remained inconclusive. This study explored mental toughness characteristics of male university athletes in selected sports in relation to contextual factors of athletes' age, playing experience, year of study, and the type of sport. The Mental Toughness Questionnaire (MTQ48) was used to collect data from male university athletes (n = 140). Results of this study showed significant difference in the following components of MT: lower scores in challenge (p = .015), emotional control (p = .005), and life control (p = .002) among athletes with shorter playing experience, and higher scores in life control (p < .001), emotional control (p = .021), and confidence in abilities (p = .009) in handball as compared to soccer players. Soccer players had significantly higher scores in the challenge component (p = .038) of mental toughness as compared to handball players. It was concluded that playing experience and the type of sport influenced characteristics of mental toughness among university athletes. Coaches, trainers, and sports psychologists need to consider these contextual factors to optimize mental toughness of athletes. Future studies should explore how specific contextual factors influence training environments and outcomes, as well as how stakeholders can leverage on the relationships between playing experience, the type of sport and mental toughness to augment athletes' mental toughness and sports performance.
RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: Urban-rural comparisons between those who maintain traditional lifestyles such as pastoralist Maasai children, and those who live in cities such as Nairobi, provide implications on how urbanization is associated with children's physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) patterns. This study compares PA and SB volumes and patterns across different segments of the week among children in Maasai village and Nairobi city in Kenya. METHOD: A total of 261 children (11.4 ± 1.3 years) from Maasai (n = 118) and Nairobi (n = 143) participated in this cross-sectional study. Moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA (MVPA) and SB on weekdays (before, during, and after school) and weekends (morning, afternoon, and evening) were calculated using accelerometers (ActiGraph). Screen time and sleep duration were assessed using questionnaires. RESULTS: Maasai children were more physically active than Nairobi children with MVPA (min/day) of 166.6 and 81.4 for Maasai and Nairobi boys and 116.4 and 77.4 for Maasai and Nairobi girls, respectively. Our week segments analyses suggested that Maasai children were more active both in and out of school than Nairobi children. Additionally, Nairobi children spent more time watching television and playing computer games than Maasai children. There was no significant difference in sleep duration between Maasai and Nairobi children. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that urbanization is negatively associated with activity patterns both in and out of school in Kenyan children. This is concerning given that Kenya is currently undergoing rapid urbanization, which may lead to further reductions in PA among Kenyan children.
