The mediating role of sleep behavior in the relationship between FoMO and mental resilience in athletes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the fear of missing out (FoMO) on social media and mental toughness among athletes, as well as the potential mediating role of athlete sleep behavior in this relationship. The study employed a quantitative research approach using a cross-sectional correlational design. Initially, data were collected from 266 athletes; however, six participants were excluded due to missing, invalid, or outlier data, resulting in a final sample of 260 athletes aged 18 years and older. Data were collected using the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) Scale, the Athlete Sleep Behavior Questionnaire (ASBQ), and the Mental Toughness Index for Adult and Adolescent Athletes. Pearson correlation analysis, independent samples t-test, and mediation analysis based on Hayes’ PROCESS Macro Model 4 with 5,000 bootstrap resamples were conducted. The findings indicated that FoMO did not significantly predict athlete sleep behavior. In contrast, poorer sleep behavior significantly and negatively predicted mental toughness, whereas FoMO significantly and positively predicted mental toughness. Bootstrap mediation analysis further revealed that athlete sleep behavior did not exert a significant mediating effect on the relationship between FoMO and mental toughness, indicating that the proposed mediation model was not supported. These findings suggest that the positive association between FoMO and mental toughness among athletes may be explained by psychological and contextual mechanisms other than sleep behavior, such as self-regulation, emotion regulation, perceived stress, or the purpose of social media use. Given the cross-sectional nature of the study, the findings should not be interpreted as evidence of causal relationships.