Mental Toughness

What is Mental Toughness?


“Mental Toughness is a quality which determines, in some part, how effectively individuals perform when exposed to stressors, pressure and challenge .... irrespective of the prevailing situation”


There is a very strong link between Mental Toughness and issues like Stress Management and Peak Performance Development and Behaviour. These are all interrelated.


  • Why is it some people handle stressors, pressure and challenge well and others don’t?

  • Can we measure where people have strengths and weaknesses in these matters?

  • Can we do something to improve “mental toughness” in people to improve their performance?

  • Can we evaluate the effectiveness of interventions which are all claimed to be effective?

More than 8 years of careful and innovative research enabled Dr Peter Clough to emerge with a tool that allowed these questions, and others, to be answered positively and effectively.


MTQ48 measures four key components of Mental Toughness:


  • Control – extent to which you feel in control of your life and emotions

  • Challenge – Identifies the extent to which people see challenges, variety, problems & changes as opportunities - or see these as threats

  • Commitment – the extent to which someone makes promises and commits to deliver what has been promised

  • Confidence - Identifies the extent to which people have self belief in their abilities and the confidence to deal with setbacks and oral challenge

Initially, the concept and the measure was applied mainly in the occupational world – looking at developing employees and managers to perform effectively, especially in challenging environments (e.g. emergency services,) and in adverse circumstances, (e.g. the 2008/9 economic downturn). These are obvious applications for mental toughness and MTQ48.


We now see Mental Toughness and MTQ48 used in a much wider range of applications. Mental Toughness is a concept with a universal application. We now find major applications in Education, Health, Social Work, Sports & Care as well as in occupational settings. As of 2010, the model and measure is in use in more than 40 countries around the globe.