Comparison of athletes’ personality characteristics in individual and team sports

This study compared athletes’ personality characteristics in individual and team sports. 134 athletes (92 team, 42 individual, 88 males, and 46 females) completed the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R) and the Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale (SAS). The results revealed that individual sport athletes scored significantly higher on conscientiousness and autonomy than did team sport athletes. The team sport athletes scored significantly higher on agreeableness and sociotropy than did the individual sport athletes. No significant difference was found between the two groups on neuroticism, extraversion, and openness. It can be concluded that athletes’ personality characteristics are different for individual and team sports.