Mental Toughness Scale for Adolescents: Psychometric Properties of Turkish Long and Short Form

In this study, psychometric properties of Turkish long and short version of the Mental Toughness Scale for Adolescents (MTS-A) were examined. In the research, data were collected from two different samples that consisted of 11 to 18-year-old middle and high school students (N1 = 357, 54.6 % boys, Mage = 14.92, sdage = 2.09; N2 = 307, 52.4 % boys, Mage = 14.97, sdage = 1.55). The results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that both 18-items six-factor original structure and 6-item one-factor short form structure of the MTS-A were confirmed in the present data. In the research, we detected significant correlations between long and short form of the MTS-A and Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-12). Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for MTS-A long and short form were .85 and .72, respectively. Results of the cross-validation and reliability study supported the psychometric properties of short form of the MTS-A. The results of multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis supported that short form of the MTS-A has configural and metric invariance across stages of adolescent development and gender. Research results highlighted that both the original and short form of the MTS-A is a valid and reliable instrument to assess 11- to 18-year-old adolescents’ mental toughness levels. Research findings were discussed, limitations and suggestions were proposed