Determining the Levels of Mental Resilience and Imagery in National Team Athletes with Hearing Impairments

Abstract

National athletes with hearing impairments often face unique challenges that may impact their mental resilience and performance. Understanding the relationship between the levels of imagery and mental resilience in this population is critical for developing effective support strategies. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the levels of imagery and mental resilience in national athletes with hearing impairments. A total of 54 professional athletes participated voluntarily in the research. After identifying outlier data through Box plot analysis, data from 2 participants were excluded, resulting in a final sample of 52 participants. Sociodemographic information was collected using a personal information form developed by the researcher. Measurement tools included the “Sport Imagery Questionnaire” and the “Sport Mental Resilience Inventory.” Normality of the score distribution was confirmed through skewness and kurtosis analysis. Descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) were employed in accordance with these findings. For data analysis, the “Independent Sample T-Test” was utilized for comparisons between two independent groups, while the “One-Way ANOVA” was used for comparisons involving more than two groups. The “Pearson Correlation Test” examined the relationship between two numerical variables. The study found that as the average scores from the mental resilience scale increased, levels of imagery in sports, scores from the sports imagery inventory, levels of motivational specific imagery, and levels of motivational general mastery also increased. This suggests a positive interaction between studies on imagery and mental resilience.