SPRING 2024

AUTHOR

Lisa Hone, Southern Utah University

ABSTRACT

A survey was conducted with 48 female participants (athletes n = 27, nonathletes n = 21) from a rural high school in Utah to determine the correlation between mental health literacy and grit. Each participant completed the modified Multicomponent Mental Health Literacy Measure (MMHLM), shortened Grit-S scale, challenge and commitment constructs from the Mental Toughness Questionnaire 48-item (MTQ48), and additional questions about their views of elite athletes and mental health.

Female athletes did not differ from their nonathlete counterparts modified MMHLM scores except for the resource-oriented scores (2.63 ± 1.42 vs.2.71± 1.42, respectively, p = .02). A Mann-Whitney U revealed no statistically significant correlations between total modified MMHLM score and grit, challenge, or commitment (rs = – .075, 0.181, and -0.080, respectively) for all participants. We found statistically significant, moderate positive correlations for grit and challenge (rs =.504) and grit and commitment (rs =.602). For female athletes, no statistically significant correlations were reported between total modified MMHLM scores and grit (rs = -0.103), total modified MMHLM scores and challenge (rs = 0.262), and total modified MMHLM and commitment (rs = -0.075). Again, we found a statistically significant, low positive correlation between grit and challenge (rs =0.391) and a moderate correlation between grit and commitment (rs = 0.607) for the female athletes. No statistically significant correlations were reported between MHL and grit for female athletes.