Leadership, Mental Toughness, and Attachment Relationship in the World Beach Volleyball Context

Nayara Malheiros Caruzzo, João Ricardo Nickenig Vissoci, Andressa Ribeiro Contreira, Aryelle Malheiros Caruzzo and Lenamar Fiorese
Additional contact information
Nayara Malheiros Caruzzo: Department de Educação Física, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá 87020-900, Brazil
João Ricardo Nickenig Vissoci: Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI), Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
Andressa Ribeiro Contreira: Escola Superior de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade do Estado do Amazonas, Manaus 69065-001, Brazil
Aryelle Malheiros Caruzzo: Centro de Treinamento Paralímpico Brasileiro, São Paulo 04329-000, Brazil
Lenamar Fiorese: Department de Educação Física, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá 87020-900, Brazil

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 19, 1-12

Abstract: For a long time, competitive sport has focused only on aspects related to performance. However, studies in social psychology have indicated the importance of focusing on the human development of athletes, which can occur through training environments that promote psychological well-being. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the impact of the coach-athlete attachment style, mediated by the coach’s leadership style, on the mental toughness of athletes in the world beach volleyball context. Elite beach volleyball athletes ( n = 65), participants of the World Tour 2018, were part of the study. The Coach-Athlete Attachment Scale (CAAS), Mental Toughness Index (MTI) and Leadership Scale for Sport (LSS) were used as instruments. For data analyses we used polychoric correlation and a bias-corrected factor score path analysis. Path analysis showed that perceived secure attachment was positively associated with athletes’ mental toughness (0.24; 0.31; 0.25), but leadership styles did not mediate this relationship. For athletes with anxious attachment profiles, the perception of autocratic leadership style was associated with athletes’ mental toughness (1.01; p = 0.03), when their interaction style is focused on coaching-instruction. It concludes that the secure attachment relationship can bring increases in levels of athletic mental toughness, whereas for athletes with insecure attachment, the autocratic style was shown to be associated with the highest levels of mental toughness.

Keywords: sport; beach volleyball; athlete; attachment; mental toughness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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