Authors
Shuge Zhang, Zhicheng Pan, Magdalena Harris, Luke Gibson, Kirsten McEwan
Published in
Psychology of sport and exercise. Pages 103256. Aug 29, 2026. Epub Aug 29, 2026.
Abstract
Despite the benefits of self-compassion, performers consistently express concerns about it; they tend to see embracing self-compassion as indicating an inferior position and signalling weakness. Indeed, one challenge in incorporating self-compassion into sport and performance settings is the lack of evidence supporting its performance benefits. The present research therefore examined how self-compassion and related fears link to mental toughness, which is key to maintaining performance under high pressure. In two cross-sectional studies of British Universities and Colleges Sport athletes (Study 1, N = 282) and (semi-)professional football players (Study 2, N = 252), and a three-wave longitudinal study of club players (Study 3, N = 303), the results consistently demonstrated that self-compassion was associated with greater self-report (Study 1) and coach-rated mental toughness (Study 2), whilst an increase in fear of self-compassion suppressed such an association. Importantly, analysis of the three-wave panel data (Study 3) replicated the findings from Studies 1-2 and extended them for temporal precedence and longitudinal association. The findings provide novel, consistent evidence supporting the benefits of self-compassion for athletes in fostering mental toughness. The findings also raise questions about the possible adaptive-maladaptive role distinction of fear of self-compassion in performance settings and the potential debate over the "enduring" vs "processing" underpinning of mental toughness.
PMID:
42667947
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 30 Aug 2026.
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