Melola Discovery

← Melola Discovery

Journal

Mental Toughness in Female Athletes: “Does It Differ from Female Musicians?”

ACTIVE: Journal of Physical Education, Sport, Health and Recreation · Vol. 14 No. 3 (2025) · pp. 980–985

DOI
10.15294/active.v14i3.35504
ISSN
2460-724X, 2252-6773
Published
2025-10-30
Publisher
Universitas Negeri Semarang
Language
eng

Abstract

This study tried to probe possible differences in mental toughness between female musicians and female athletes as an approach toward better understanding the concept of psychological resilience across different performance contexts. The sample population consisted of sixty females from Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia: thirty athletes coming from the Faculty of Sports and Health Education (Faculty of Sports and Health Education) and another group of thirty musicians belonging to the Faculty of Art and Design Education (FPSD). Data were collected through the use of the Mental Toughness Questionnaire 18 (MTQ18) which duly described emotional control, self-belief, motivation, confidence, and challenge. Above all other specific requisites, this instrument rated high with excellent construct and content validity in earlier studies. A descriptive comparison analysis showed that musicians were less mentally tough overall (M = 58.80, SD = 3.68) than athletes (M = 64.50, SD = 5.24). It is in the motivation and emotional control components where the widest gaps are seen-with higher internal drive and better emotional regulation among athletes. Much more slightly tilted toward the athlete’s side, the ratings of challenge between the two groups were almost identical. Results of this study support a claim that performing arts environments develop less psychological flexibility compared to controlled competitive sports environments because artistic domains emphasize creativity and expression. This study enhances understanding of the psychological rigidity of women and at the same time helps offset the gender bias that has informed past studies. Practical ramifications include the development of domain-specific mental training programs, for example, goal-setting and stress management training for athletes as well as emotional control techniques for musicians which can be derived from this study. Limitations include a small sample size based on self-reported data without subgroup analysis. More comprehensive studies with larger samples composed of different groups are required in addition to long-term studies to trace the development of mental toughness in various fields of performance.

Keywords

Collaboration network of the authors

40 authors · 132 co-authorship links · showing the 40 most connected

Hover or tap a name to highlight its co-authors. Double-click to open the author's page.

  • Tanjungpura University
  • Affiliation unknown
  • Different organisations
  • Same organisation
  • Affiliation unknown
  • Thicker line = more joint articles · bigger circle = more articles
Show as table
Co-authorOrganisationJoint articles
Sri WicahyaniAffiliation unknown5
Sandey Tantra ParamithaAffiliation unknown5
Mustika FitriAffiliation unknown5
Novrizal Achmad NovanAffiliation unknown4
Unun UmaranAffiliation unknown2
JajatAffiliation unknown2
Herman SubarjahAffiliation unknown2
Syam HardwisAffiliation unknown2
Wildan Alfia NugrohoAffiliation unknown2
Agus WiyantoAffiliation unknown2
Nurlan KusmaediAffiliation unknown2
Putra Bagus DharmawanAffiliation unknown2
Yudha M SaputraAffiliation unknown2
Ahmad HamidieAffiliation unknown2
Dinda KhoerunnisaAffiliation unknown2
Diftha Nusa Al fitraAffiliation unknown2
Yonda Maisy LalitaAffiliation unknown1
Ayu Ria AzizahAffiliation unknown1
Adang SuhermanAffiliation unknown1
Mufidzatul Zulfa Laili AskhadAffiliation unknown1
Nasuka NasukaAffiliation unknown1
Donny Wira Yudha KusumaAffiliation unknown1
Ahmad HamidiAffiliation unknown1
Tiara Khumairah Juliany RukmanAffiliation unknown1
Aang MeiyantoAffiliation unknown1
Deris MaulanaAffiliation unknown1
Mokhamad ParmadiAffiliation unknown1
Kamilah Wulan NurfitriAffiliation unknown1
Surdiniaty UgeltaAffiliation unknown1
Witri SuwantoTanjungpura University1
Oktoviana Nur AjidAffiliation unknown1
Andre YogaswaraAffiliation unknown1
Muchamad Rizki SentaniAffiliation unknown1
Iman ImanudinAffiliation unknown1
Fitra Faradisha PutriAffiliation unknown1
Yati RuhayatiAffiliation unknown1
Salsa MuzdalipaAffiliation unknown1

Affiliations come from OpenAlex; journal OAI-PMH metadata carries none. Authors without an OpenAlex ID are matched by name, which can merge or split people.

Metadata source: OAI-PMH (metadata jurnal) https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/peshr/oai, first harvested 6 Nov 2026, last seen 6 Nov 2026.
Original metadata (oai_dc) 
<oai_dc:dc xmlns="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/  http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd">
	<dc:title xml:lang="en">Mental Toughness in Female Athletes: “Does It Differ from Female Musicians?”</dc:title>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Muhamad Galih Firzatulloh</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Mohammad Zaky</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Septian Williyanto</dc:creator>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Mental Toughness; Female Athletes; Emotional Control; Motivation</dc:subject>
	<dc:description xml:lang="en">This study tried to probe possible differences in mental toughness between female musicians and female athletes as an approach toward better understanding the concept of psychological resilience across different performance contexts. The sample population consisted of sixty females from Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia: thirty athletes coming from the Faculty of Sports and Health Education (Faculty of Sports and Health Education) and another group of thirty musicians belonging to the Faculty of Art and Design Education (FPSD). Data were collected through the use of the Mental Toughness Questionnaire 18 (MTQ18) which duly described emotional control, self-belief, motivation, confidence, and challenge. Above all other specific requisites, this instrument rated high with excellent construct and content validity in earlier studies. A descriptive comparison analysis showed that musicians were less mentally tough overall (M = 58.80, SD = 3.68) than athletes (M = 64.50, SD = 5.24). It is in the motivation and emotional control components where the widest gaps are seen-with higher internal drive and better emotional regulation among athletes. Much more slightly tilted toward the athlete’s side, the ratings of challenge between the two groups were almost identical. Results of this study support a claim that performing arts environments develop less psychological flexibility compared to controlled competitive sports environments because artistic domains emphasize creativity and expression. This study enhances understanding of the psychological rigidity of women and at the same time helps offset the gender bias that has informed past studies. Practical ramifications include the development of domain-specific mental training programs, for example, goal-setting and stress management training for athletes as well as emotional control techniques for musicians which can be derived from this study. Limitations include a small sample size based on self-reported data without subgroup analysis. More comprehensive studies with larger samples composed of different groups are required in addition to long-term studies to trace the development of mental toughness in various fields of performance. </dc:description>
	<dc:publisher xml:lang="en">Universitas Negeri Semarang</dc:publisher>
	<dc:date>2025-10-30</dc:date>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/article</dc:type>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion</dc:type>
	<dc:type xml:lang="en">Peer-reviewed Article</dc:type>
	<dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
	<dc:identifier>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/peshr/article/view/35504</dc:identifier>
	<dc:identifier>10.15294/active.v14i3.35504</dc:identifier>
	<dc:source xml:lang="en">ACTIVE: Journal of Physical Education, Sport, Health and Recreation; Vol. 14 No. 3 (2025); 980 - 985</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2460-724X</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2252-6773</dc:source>
	<dc:source>10.15294/active.v14i3</dc:source>
	<dc:language>eng</dc:language>
	<dc:relation>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/peshr/article/view/35504/6667</dc:relation>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">Copyright (c) 2025 ACTIVE: Journal of Physical Education, Sport, Health and Recreation</dc:rights>
</oai_dc:dc>