The Relationship Between Mental Toughness, Goal Orientation and Motivational Climate Levels of Professional Football Players

Abstract

This study aims to examine the mental toughness, goal orientation and motivational climate levels of 887 professional footballers from TFF 1st League, TFF 2nd League and TFF 3rd League registered in Turkish Football Federation and whether these characteristics change according to age, league level and sport experience. The results showed that mental toughness scores of footballers were significantly correlated with age, league level and sport experience. Significant difference was found in goal orientation scores with age and league level, but not with sport experience. Motivational climate scores were found to vary significantly with age, league level and sport experience. In addition, it was found that task orientation had a positive effect on mental toughness, and mastery climate, one of the sub-dimensions of motivational climate, had a positive effect on mental toughness. However, performance climate was found to have a significant and negative effect on mental toughness. This study showed that the levels of mental toughness, goal orientation and motivational climate in professional football players have significant relationships with demographic factors and with each other.