European Journal of Experimental Biology Open Access

Keywords

psychological hardiness, athletes, non-athletes

Introduction

Human beings have found over time that some events can jeopardize their health, balance, comfort, and adaptation. However, evidence has shown that stressful situations do not always lead to disease and maladaptation [2]. Nowadays, the performance of athletes depends on a variety of factors. Mental skills of athletes in different sports vary depending on the requirements of each specific sport. Moreover, in highly competitive situations where physical fitness of athletes reaches its maximum level, it is the psychological factors that play a crucial role in the success of athletes. Psychological hardiness is one of the most important characteristics of successful athletes. It is a multifactor structure that everyone possesses to some extent and it consists of three components: commitment, control, and challenge. Hardy individuals have understood the meaning, value, and purpose of themselves, their job, and their life in general. They give more credence to effort than chance and believe that they can control the events of life. They believe that positive and negative events are the consequences of one’s actions. They also consider change as a fixed rule of life and an opportunity for learning and growth, rather than a threat to their safety [1,5]. Hardy individuals do not appraise events as threatening, but positive and controllable [5,6]. Researchers believe that several factors moderate the relationship between stress and disease. Some people have certain characteristics that increase their resistance to stress and prevent its negative consequences [8]. In addition, human beings are not easily overwhelmed by stress and its consequences; rather, they have come up with various strategies for regaining their adaptation and balance and for preventing, controlling, or coping with stress. The present research studies one of these strategies against stress, i.e. psychological hardiness, and tries to compare it in a sample of athlete and nonathlete students. Psychological hardiness refers to individuals who are resistant against stress. It is a multifactor structure that is everyone possesses to some extent and consists of three components: commitment, control, and challenge [7,1,9]. The studies of Kobasa and colleagues have shown that hardiness is positively associated with physical and psychological health. Although stress weakens the immune system in the long run and exposes the individual to various diseases, there are certain moderators known as stress-resistant resources that reduce the negative effects of stress on the body. Psychological hardiness is the most important of these resources. Research has shown that people with low psychological hardiness will be afflicted with diseases in the long run, while people with high levels of hardiness are immune against the negative effects of stress. Hardy people feel responsible for their actions and behaviors and believe that events in life can be controlled and predicted. They consider change as an opportunity and challenge for further growth rather than a threat. According to Kobasa, hardy individuals experience the events of life just like others, but do not appraise these events as stressful and are confident of their ability to cope with them.

Swimming is one of the most favorite sports in different societies. Swimming is not only relaxing and refreshing, but it also increases the physical abilities of swimmers, including the circulatory and respiratory systems, strength, speed, ad flexibility of joints. According to Kobasa, swimmers have a greater control over their life and enjoy a higher level of psychological hardiness. Mountaineering, on the other hand, is one of the sports that increases physical strength and enhances mental abilities of its practitioners. Mountaineers have a more balanced control over release of adrenaline that leads to stress. Accordingly, the present research studies and compares psychological hardiness in athletes (swimming and mountaineering) and non-athlete students.

Results

The frequency distribution of the studied sample is provided in table 1.

Table 1. The frequency distribution of the studied groups

To examine the psychological hardiness of the subjects, they were divided into groups with high and low hardiness based on their scores in Bartone’s Hardiness Questionnaire. The frequency distribution of the subjects with high and low hardiness is provided in table 2.

Table 2. The frequency distribution of the studied groups based on their level of hardiness

As shown in table 2, among the compared groups, the swimmers have a higher level of hardiness (63.3%). The mountaineers assume the next rank with 36.7% and the non-athletes had the least hardiness as compared to the other groups. Chi-square test was applied to examine whether there is a significant relationship between psychological hardiness and type of activity. The results are presented in table 3.

Table 3 shows that the observed chi-square at 99% confidence level is significant and thus there is a significant relationship between psychological hardiness and type of activity. In addition, one-way analysis of variance was used to see whether there is a significant difference between the studied groups in terms of psychological hardiness.

Table 3. The results of chi-square test

As shown in table 4, the value of F is significant at 99% confidence level and degree of freedom of 2 and 147; thus, it can be concluded that there is a significant difference between at least two groups in hardiness scores. Scheffe’s post hoc test was applied to identify the groups that significantly differ and the results suggested that there is only a significant difference between the mean hardiness scores of swimmers and non-athletes.

Table 4. The results of one-way ANOVA

Conclusion

The results of the present research show that psychological hardiness of swimmers is significantly higher than that of the non-athletes. This finding is consistent with the results of Golby and Sheard (2004) and Kashani (2011). Perhaps, the experience and higher physical fitness of the swimmers can be the reasons for such an outcome. Swimmers can considerably control negative energies and they continue their development despite the various changes they encounter in life. In addition, no significant difference was observed between mountaineers and nonathletes in hardiness scores. The possible reason for this finding is the gender and job of the participants. Psychological hardiness is an inherited or developed characteristic that predicts the success of athletes. Being placed under difficult conditions (competition and training) can enhance the hardiness of athletes. Various factors play a role in the formation and development of mental skills that need to be individually examined, including age, competitive experience, level of activity, the nature of the sport, and individual differences. Since employing coping strategies in stressful situations is an important factor in physical and mental health, the higher scores obtained by swimmers can be justified.

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