A Moderated Mediation Model Examining the Influence of Mindfulness on Self-Confidence and Mental Toughness of Thai National Athletes

Abstract

Numerous studies have shown that athletes’ dispositional mindfulness is positively associated with sports performance, psychological skills, and mental toughness. Purpose: This study tested whether self-confidence mediates the association between mindfulness and mental toughness among Thai national athletes and investigated whether sport type moderates this mediation model. Participants included 408 Thai national athletes (Mage = 22.52, SD = 5.92) representing individual (n = 219) and team sports (n = 189). Data were collected using the Mindfulness in Sport Questionnaire (Thai version), the Revised Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2R) for self-confidence, and the Thai Mental Toughness Questionnaire. Internal consistency for all scales ranged from 0.76 to 0.97. The results demonstrated that mindfulness significantly predicted both self-confidence and mental toughness, with self-confidence acting as a partial mediator. The moderated mediation analysis (Model 59) was significant (Index of Moderated Mediation = 0.105, 95% CI [0.021, 0.208]). Specifically, the mindfulness-confidence linkage (Path a) was stronger in team sports, whereas the confidence-mental toughness relationship (Path b) was more pronounced in individual sports. This study contributes to the literature by clarifying the mindfulness–self-confidence–mental toughness pathway. Within the Thai context, mindfulness is positioned as a 'naturalised grounding' derived from Buddhist heritage, offering a unique baseline for elite athletes. Finally, the findings suggest that coaches should implement sport-specific mental training—focusing on filtering social noise for team sports and bolstering internal belief for individual sports