Mental Toughness and Sport Motivation: What Matters Most in Predicting Sport-Related Anxiety Among Highly Active Adult Esport Players?

The present study examined the relationship between mental toughness, sport motivation, and sport anxiety in a sample of 106 highly active adult esports players (94 males and 12 females) with ages ranging from 18 to 30 years (M = 22.3, SD = 3.3), who engaged in games such as League of Legends. Participants completed the Mental Toughness Inventory (MTI), the Sport Motivation Scale (SMS), and the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2). The results of the correlation analysis indicated that mental toughness was negatively associated with concentration distraction. Intrinsic motivation showed a positive association with worry, whereas extrinsic motivation was positively related to concentration distraction. Moreover, amotivation sub-scale correlated with both increased somatic anxiety and concentration distraction. Furthermore, results of conducting regression analyses indicated that amotivation was the only significant predictor of somatic anxiety and concentration disruption, whereas intrinsic motivation was the only significant predictor of worry. Findings emphasize that motivational factors, rather than mental toughness, are more significant in accounting for sport-related anxiety among highly active esports players.