The moderating role of big five personality between physical activity and self-esteem in college students: a cross-sectional survey

Objective Previous studies have indicated a close correlation between physical activity and self-esteem; however, the underlying mechanism of them remains unknown till now. This research aimed to reveal the potential moderating role of Big Five personality traits in the relationship between physical activity and self-esteem among college students in China. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1,345 college students from Guangdong in south region of China by employing the convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Physical Activity Rating Scale, the Self-Esteem Scale, and the brief version of the Chinese Big Five Personality Inventory. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation analysis, one-way analysis of variance, and the moderation effect analysis were performed in turn. Results Physical activity was significantly and positively associated with self-esteem ( r = 0.217, p < 0.01). A significant increasing trend in self-esteem was observed across levels of physical activity ( F = 24.254, p < 0.001). After controlling for demographic variables, conscientiousness ( B = −0.003, p = 0.001), agreeableness ( B = −0.003, p = 0.009), and extraversion ( B = −0.002, p = 0.009) significantly and negatively moderated the association between physical activity and self-esteem. Furthermore, the positive association between physical activity and self-esteem was stronger among students with lower levels of conscientiousness ( B = 0.067, p < 0.001), agreeableness ( B = 0.076, p < 0.001), and extraversion ( B = 0.063, p < 0.001). Conclusion This study extends current understanding of the association between physical activity and self-esteem by identifying the moderating role of Big Five personality traits, and the findings provide empirical evidence suggesting that the correlation between physical activity and self-esteem varies depending on individual personality profiles, offering a basis for future research on whether personality-informed physical activity interventions are associated with changes in college students’ self-esteem. However, these evidence only obtained by the cross-sectional survey so that the casual relation cannot be inferred, which has been further verified by experimental design and longitudinal research in future work.