Predicting athletic performance using the five-factor model of personality

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to determine if the dimensions of the five-factor model of personality could be used as predictors of athletic performance and (b) to demonstrate the utility of the five-factor model as a theoretical paradigm capable of organizing personality research on athletic competition. Subjects were 79 female athletes from four different women's NCAA Division 1 soccer teams. All subjects completed a bipolar adjective scale designed to measure the five factors. Coaches' ratings on several performance dimensions and actual game statistics were also collected. Regression analyses indicated that the personality dimensions of neuroticism and conscientiousness explained approximately 23% of the variance in coaches' ratings, while conscientiousness was the sole predictor of actual games statistics, explaining about 8% of the variance. The potential theoretical and empirical value of these findings were discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.