title: Mental toughness as a moderator of the intention-behaviour gap in the rehabilitation of knee pain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional survey, with a 2-week time-lagged assessment of exercise behaviour.
  
  
  METHODS
  In total, 193 individuals (nfemale=107, nmale=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.
authors.affiliation: School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Curtin University, Australia. Electronic address: daniel.f.gucciardi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Daniel F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Gucciardi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Intention–behaviour gap; Mentally tough; Personal resource; Physical activity; Resource caravan; Self-regulation