The Effect of Neuroticism on Autonomic Cardiac Responses Caused by Mental Stress in University Student-Athletes

The present study investigated whether neuroticism might have predictive ability for athletes' Heart Rate Variability (HRV) in response to mental stress, a noninvasive measurement of the interaction between the autonomic nervous and cardiovascular systems. The sample included 49 university student-athletes aged 19 to 24. Participants first completed items from the Five Factor Personality Inventory concerning neuroticism to measure neuroticism. Then, their resting HRV’s were measured for four minutes. Afterward, participants took a modified version of the Stroop word-color task as the mental stressor within four minutes while their HRV responses were recorded. Results indicated a significant increase in terms of Heart Rate (HR) (z= 3.162, p= .002), Root Mean Square of the Successive (RMSSD) (z= 2.973, p= .003), Low Frequency (LF) (z= 3.027, p= .002), and High Frequency (HF) (z= 3.404, p= .001) from baseline to stressor condition in the low neuroticism group. On the other hand, no significant increase was observed in RMSSD (z= 1.314, p= .189) and LF (z= 1.173, p= .241) from baseline to stressor condition in the high neuroticism group. Results also revealed a significant increase in HR (z= 2.543, p= .011) and HF (z= 2.229, p= .026) from baseline to stressor condition in the high neuroticism group. The results observed in the present study revealed that athletes' responses to mental stress might vary due to personality traits, especially neuroticism. In conclusion, researchers and practitioners aiming to regulate athletes' psychophysiological responses to stress should consider personality traits such as neuroticism.