The relationship between mental toughness with decision-making accuracy: The mediating role of gender

Introduction: Decision-making is one of the key factors that are highly associated with psychological factors. However, there are few studies on the relationship between this variable and mental toughness. Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between mental toughness and decision-making accuracy considering the mediating role of gender. Method: The present study was a descriptive correlational study. The statistical population of the study included all futsal referees in the country's first division in 2020-2021, and 123 individuals were voluntarily selected as the statistical sample. The Spitz & et al. (2018) Decision Accuracy Test of and the Clough & et al. (2002) Mental Toughness Questionnaire were used to collect data. Finally, to examine the relationship between the variables, Pearson correlation, regression and independent t-test, and SPSS version 21 software were used. Results: The results showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between mental toughness and decision accuracy (r=0.32, P=0.001). Also, the results of the components of mental toughness showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between the challenge, commitment, emotional control, and life control components with decision accuracy (P<0.05). A multiple regression test showed that decision accuracy is influenced by mental toughness (B=0.030), and there is a significant difference between men and women in mental toughness (t=3.81, P<0.001), but this difference in decision accuracy was not significant (P>0.05). Conclusion: The presence of a significant relationship between mental toughness and decision accuracy indicates that decision accuracy improves with increasing mental toughness. Therefore, it is suggested that the variable of mental toughness can be used as an effective psychological method to improve cognitive performance.