The aim of the present review was to establish the correlation between mental toughness and sporting performance based on the results of studies published in scientific journals between 2000 and 2020. The keywords mental toughness and performance/ outcomes/ results/ competition were used to identify the papers. The search included the EBSCO and PubMed databases. Eventually, the analysis covered 18 articles. The research results presented in 16 papers confirmed the positive correlations of mental toughness with sport results and performance level. No such relationship was found only in equestrian and Alpine skiing athletes. Although mental toughness in basketball players did not correlate with the sport results, it was an important predictor. Higher mental toughness was found in athletes with better sports results, and it was a positive correlate or predictor of sports results. The relationships between mental toughness and competitive experience or age were not statistically significant. Various research tools were used to measure mental toughness: PPI, PPI-A, SMTQ, MTQ48, MTI, SMTI, MeBTough. The results confirm the positive correlation between mental toughness and sport results or performance levels in different sports, regardless of gender, age or level of sports skills. It seems appropriate to continue research on mental toughness in sport, including the relationship between mental toughness and sporting performance, differences between men and women, players in individual and team sports, the relationship between mental toughness and training experience, the athletes’ age, and the effectiveness of mental toughness programs.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to establish a hierarchy of strategies and the structure of copIng with the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic by university students and the relationship between coping strategies and psychological well-being. Participants and Methods: An exploratory study was conducted using a cross-sectional research design. The study involved 1330 university students, aged 18 to 30 years. The Brief COPE Scale, being the Polish adaptation by Juczyński and Ogińska-Bulik, and the short version of the Psychological General Well-Being Index (authors’ adaptation) were used. Results: Acceptance, doing something else, active coping, and physical activity were the most commonly used strategies for coping with stress during the second wave of the pandemic. Substance use, denial, and behavioral disengagement were lowest in the hierarchy of coping strategies. Female and master’s students used a variety of strategies more than male and bachelor’s students. Coping strategies correlated significantly with psychological well-being. Four second-degree factors were distinguished, explaining 55.1% of the total variation: maladaptive coping, coping by support, by positive reappraisal, and by action. Stepwise regression analysis confirmed the importance of the second-degree factors as predictors of psychological well-being. Conclusion: Our findings show that young adults studying at the university of physical Education in Poland used adaptive strategies to cope with stress during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gender differences in coping with pandemic stress are similar to those found in previous studies. The structure of coping with pandemic stress is to some extent similar, but also partially dependent on various cultural factors.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze which psychological factors can determine the physical activity levels of 15-year-old adolescents. The psychological factors examined were self-efficacy, physical self-esteem (body weight and body appearance) and body image. A multifactorial perspective based on a socioecological approach as well as Bandura’s social learning theory was used to clarify the relationships between the determinants and physical activity levels.Methods: The study participants were 2277 15-year-old adolescents (1086 boys and 1191 girls). Selected questions and scales from HBS C’s international standard questionnaire were used, including the Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity index, the self perception of body weight and body appearance question, the General Self-Efficacy Scale and the Body Image Subscale.Results: It was found that over half of the Polish 15-year-old population featured an insufficient level of physical activity. Self-efficacy, body image and physical self-esteem of both body mass and body image were significant predictors of physical activity. The role of these predictors was found to be differentiated by gender.Conclusions: The physical activity levels of 15-year-old adolescents can be predicted by use of psychological variables.

This study sought to track changes in intensity of fear of childbirth and locus of labor pain control in women attending an exercise program for pregnant women or traditional childbirth classes and to identify the predictors of these changes. The study was longitudinal/non-experimental in nature and run on 109 healthy primigravidae aged from 22 to 37, including 62 women participating in an exercise program for pregnant women and 47 women attending traditional childbirth classes. The following assessment tools were used: two scales developed by the present authors – the Fear of Childbirth Scale and the Control of Birth Pain Scale, three standardized psychological inventories for the big five personality traits (NEO Five Factors Inventory), trait anxiety (State–Trait Anxiety Inventory) and dispositional optimism (Life Oriented Test–Revised) and a questionnaire concerning socioeconomic status, health status, activities during pregnancy, relations with partners and expectations about childbirth. Fear of childbirth significantly decreased in women participating in the exercise program for pregnant women but not in women attending traditional childbirth classes. Several significant predictors of post-intervention fear of childbirth emerged: dispositional optimism and self-rated health (negative) and strength of the belief that childbirth pain depends on chance (positive).

Occupational balance (OB) is related to physical health as well as physical and psychological well-being (PWB). The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the occupations of people probably af...