Mental toughness as a moderator of the intention-behaviour gap in the rehabilitation of knee pain

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of mental toughness in maximising the effect of intentions to perform rehabilitative exercises on behaviour among a sample of people with knee pain. Design: Cross-sectional survey, with a 2-week time-lagged assessment of exercise behaviour. Methods: In total, 193 individuals (n <inf>female</inf> =107, n <inf>male</inf> =84) aged between 18 and 69 years (M =30.79, SD=9.39) participated, with 136 (70.5%) retained at both assessment points. At time 1, participants completed an online, multisection survey that encompassed measures of demographic details, severity of problems associated with the knee (e.g., pain, symptoms), past behaviour, mental toughness, and the theory of planned behaviour constructs (TPB; attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural, intentions). Two weeks later, participants retrospectively reported their exercise behaviour for the past 14 days using an online survey. Results: Moderated regression analyses indicated that mental toughness and its interaction with intention accounted for an additional 3% and 4% of the variance in exercise behaviour, respectively. Past behaviour, attitudes, and mental toughness all had direct effects on behaviour, alongside a meaningful interaction between intentions and mental toughness. Specifically, intentions had a stronger effect on exercise behaviour among those individuals high in mental toughness compared to those low in this personal resource. Conclusions: The results of this study shed new light on the intention-behaviour gap by indicating that mental toughness increases the likelihood that intention is translated into action.