Is Being Tough Always Good? Links Between Mental Toughness and the Perception of Sexual Harassment in Sports Context

Abstract

Mental toughness is commonly associated with enhanced performance and psychological resilience across various domains, including sport. However, its potential drawbacks remain underexplored. This study investigates the relationship between mental toughness and perceptions of sexual harassment in sport, focusing on how it may shape attitudes toward misconduct within coach-athlete dynamics. A sample of 1,532 participants (n = 822 athletes) completed an online survey assessing mental toughness, sexual harassment myth acceptance, and responses to two scenarios depicting inappropriate coach behavior: a quid-pro-quo vignette and suggestive text exchanges. Results indicated that individuals with sport participation reported significantly higher mental toughness compared to non-participants. Mental toughness was positively associated with greater acceptance of sexual harassment myths and more tolerant responses to the depicted harassment, including reduced perpetrator blame, more favorable emotional reactions, and lower perceived inappropriateness. A generalized structural equation model revealed that mental toughness partially mediated the relationship between sport participation and tolerance toward questionable coach behavior. While effect sizes were small, the consistency across multiple scenarios underscores a potential unintended consequence of emphasizing mental toughness in sport contexts – namely, diminished sensitivity to harmful conduct. These findings highlight the need for sport organizations and educators to critically reassess how mental toughness is promoted. Integrating boundary-awareness and misconduct recognition into resilience training may help mitigate tolerance of inappropriate behavior, supporting athlete safety and ethical standards in sport environments.

Keywords

resilience sexuality victimization athletics

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