Individual-sport athletes were found to be more energetic and open than team-sport athletes

Associations between personality, sports participation and athletic success. A comparison of Big Five in sporting and non-sporting adults. Patrizia Steca, Dario Baretta, , Andrea Greco, Marco D'Addario, Dario Monzani. Personality and Individual Differences. Volume 121, 15 January 2018, Pages 176–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.09.040

Highlights
•    Big Five are associated with participation and success in sports.
•    Energy and agreeableness are related to sport participation.
•    Consciousness and emotional stability are associated with sport success.
•    Individual-sport athletes are more energetic and open than team-sport athletes.
•    ESEM has been used to test for factor invariance and mean differences.

Abstract: The present study investigates whether the Big Five personality traits are different among diverse sports populations. A sample of 881 male athletes and non-athletes completed a self-report questionnaire measuring their personality traits. The Exploratory Structure Equation Modeling (ESEM) approach is adopted to test measurement invariance and mean differences among groups. The results indicate that athletes who had experienced the most success in their sport scored higher than non-athletes in each personality dimension of the Big Five, with the exception of openness, while less successful athletes scored higher than non-athletes only in extraversion and agreeableness. The more successful athletes showed higher agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability than the less successful athletes. Individual-sport athletes were found to be more energetic and open than team-sport athletes. The current findings help clarify the relationships between personality traits, sports participation and athletic success.

Keywords: Big Five personality factors; Exploratory structural equation modeling; Sport participation; Sport success; Individual and team sport