The Effect of Route Difficulty on Mental Toughness and Anxiety in Sports Climbing

Abstract

This study intends to examine the impacts of route difficulty on the state anxiety and mental toughness level in sport climbing. Our study is designed as an experimental study with a control application. In this context, the working group consisted of 34 athletes with intermediate level sports climbing skills. The athletes were asked to climb two routes, which was easy and difficult to their specified climbing ability. State anxiety inventory and mental toughness scale were applied before and after the climbs. Mental Toughness Scale in Sport (MTS), developed by Sheard, Golby, and Wersch (2009) and adapted into Turkish by Altıntaş (2015) to determine the mental toughness level of athletes after each climb; State Anxiety Inventory (STAI), developed by Spielberger, Gorsuch, and Lushene (1968) and validated by Öner and Le Compte (1985), was used to determine state anxiety. Paired sample t-Test was used in the analysis of the data, the independent sample t-Test was used in the analysis of the independent variables, and the One-Way Anova test was used in the groups with more than two groups. Correlation analysis was used to analyse the relationships. A significant change was detected in the pre- and post-climb state anxiety levels in both routes. In addition, a significant difference was found between the anxiety level before climbing the difficult route and the level of anxiety before climbing the easy route. It was also observed that there was a significant difference between the mental toughness scores after climbing the easy and difficult route. As a result, it can be said that route difficulty affects the level of state anxiety in athletes with moderate climbing ability, but it is concluded that it is not a factor that will make a difference on mental toughness.

Keywords

• Sport Climbing
• Route Difficulty
• Mental Toughness
• State Anxiety

Spor Tırmanışta Rota Zorluğunun Zihinsel Dayanıklılık ve Kaygı Düzeyi Üzerine Etkisi

Öz

Bu çalışmada spor tırmanışta rota zorluğunun zihinsel dayanıklılık ve durumluk kaygı üzerine etkilerinin incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Çalışma kontrol uygulaması içeren deneysel çalışma şeklinde tasarlanmıştır. Orta seviye tırmanış becerisine sahip 34 sporcu, çalışmaya dahil edilmiştir. Sporcuların beyan ettikleri tırmanış seviyeleri baz alındığında kolay ve zor olacak şekilde iki farklı rotaya tırmanmaları istenmiştir. Her bir tırmanış sonrasında sporcuların zihinsel dayanıklılık seviyesini belirlemek için Sheard, Golby ve Wersch (2009) tarafından geliştirilen ve Türkçe’ye uyarlaması Altıntaş (2015) tarafından yapılan sporda Zihinsel Dayanıklılık Ölçeği (ZDÖ); durumluk kaygılarını belirlemek için ise Spielberger, Gorsuch ve Lushene (1968) tarafından geliştirilen ve geçerliliği Öner ve Le Compte (1985) tarafından yapılan Durumluk Kaygı Ölçeği (DKÖ) kullanılmıştır. Verilerin analizinde bağımlı değişkenlerde eşleştirilmiş örnek t Test, bağımsız değişkenlerin analizinde ise iki grup olanlarda Bağımsız örneklem t Test ve ikiden fazla olan gruplarda tek yönlü Anova testi kullanılmıştır. İlişkilerin incelenmesinde ise korelasyon analizi yapılmıştır. Her iki rotada tırmanış öncesi ve sonrası durumluk kaygı seviyelerinde anlamlı bir değişim tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca, zor rota tırmanışı öncesi kaygı seviyesi ile kolay rota tırmanışı öncesi kaygı seviyesi arasında anlamlı bir fark bulunmuştur. Kolay ve zor rotada tırmanış sonrası zihinsel dayanıklılık puanları arasında da anlamlı fark olduğu görülmüştür. Sonuç olarak, rota zorluğunun orta seviye tırmanış yeteneğine sahip sporcularda durumluk kaygı düzeyine etki ettiği söylenebilir ancak zihinsel dayanıklılık üzerinde fark yaratacak bir etken olmadığı sonucuna varılmıştır. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Spor Tırmanış
• Rota Zorluğu
• Zihinsel Dayanıklılık
• Durumluk Kaygı
• Sport Climbing
• Route Difficulty
• Mental Toughness
• State Anxiety.

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