The impact of mental toughness on resilience and well-being: A comparison of hearing-impaired and non-hearing-impaired athletes

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of mental toughness levels on the psychological resilience and mental well-being levels of hearing impaired and non-hearing impaired athletes and the extent of the difference between hearing impaired and non-hearing impaired athletes. The study group of the research consisted of 121 hearing impaired and 127 non-hearing-impaired athletes who continue their active sports life in Turkey. Convenience sampling method for non-hearing-impaired athletes and snowball sampling method for hearing impaired athletes were used for data collection. Data was collected online with Google Forms. In the study, structural equation modelling was conducted with Smart PLS program. In Model A, the direct effect of mental toughness on mental well-being and resilience was determined. Model B showed that mental toughness directly affected mental well-being and resilience. Mental toughness has a direct effect on psychological resilience and mental well-being of hearing-impaired athletes and non-hearing-impaired athletes. In addition, the mental toughness, psychological resilience and mental well-being levels of hearing-impaired athletes are higher than those of non-hearing-impaired athletes.