Is self-compassion good for mental toughness? Insights of cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence from diverse British athletes and competitive club players

Despite the benefits of self-compassion, performers consistently express concerns about it; they tend to see embracing self-compassion as indicating an inferior position and signalling weakness. Indeed, one challenge in incorporating self-compassion into sport and performance settings is the lack of evidence supporting its performance benefits. The present research therefore examined how self-compassion and related fears link to mental toughness, which is key to maintaining performance under high pressure. In two cross-sectional studies of British Universities and Colleges Sport athletes (Study 1, N = 282) and (semi-)professional football players (Study 2, N = 252), and a three-wave longitudinal study of club players (Study 3, N = 303), the results consistently demonstrated that self-compassion was associated with greater self-report (Study 1) and coach-rated mental toughness (Study 2), whilst an increase in fear of self-compassion suppressed such an association. Importantly, analysis of the three-wave panel data (Study 3) replicated the findings from Studies 1-2 and extended them for temporal precedence and longitudinal association. The findings provide novel, consistent evidence supporting the benefits of self-compassion for athletes in fostering mental toughness. The findings also raise questions about the possible adaptive-maladaptive role distinction of fear of self-compassion in performance settings and the potential debate over the "enduring" vs "processing" underpinning of mental toughness.