Effect of physical activity on mental toughness and quality of life in gender-specific participants: a cross-sectional examination

Background and aims: Mental toughness is a psychological construct related to resilience and perseverance, and quality of life encompasses physical, emotional, and social wellbeing, which are critical indicators of overall health and wellbeing. This study aims to investigate the effects of different levels of physical activity on mental toughness and quality of life in both male and female participants. Methods: This cross-sectional study consists of 220 participants with the age range of 18–31 years. The data were collected using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, the Mental Toughness Questionnaire, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life. Gender specific differences were determined using an independent t-test (two-tailed). The effect of varying levels of physical activity in male and female participants was determined by analysis of variance. Results: Significant differences were found between male and female participants for physical activity levels as high (t = 4.21, p ≤ 0.001, d = 871.80), moderate (t = 3.72, p ≤ 0.001, d = 1309.59), and low (t = 3.21, p = 0.002, d = 520.91) physical activity participants. Statistically significant differences were also found between gender for mental toughness parameters [handling pressure (t = 17.96, p ≤ 0.001, d = 1.25), concentration (t = 16.07, p ≤ 0.001, d = 1.22), mental rebounding (t = 13.34, p ≤ 0.001, d = 1.45), winning attitude (t = 12.01, p ≤ 0.001, d = 1.17)] and quality of life parameters [physical (t = 13.16, p ≤ 0.001, d = 1.58), mental (t = 6.17, p ≤ 0.001, d = 1.69), social (t = 4.58, p ≤ 0.001, d = 2.05), environmental (t = 8.35, p ≤ 0.001, d = 4.95)]. Conclusion: Statistically significant differences were found between genders in levels of physical activity, mental toughness, and quality of life. Future research should aim to unravel the complex interlink between physical activity, mental toughness, and quality of life, using longitudinal designs and diverse populations to validate the findings and explore the underlying mechanisms further.