ORIGINAL PAPER
Impact of personality traits and motivation on adolescent sports participation
1
University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
2
Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC), Madrid, Spain
3
Comillas Pontifical University, Madrid, Spain
Submission date: 2025-08-18
Final revision date: 2025-10-13
Acceptance date: 2025-10-14
Online publication date: 2025-12-16
Publication date: 2026-01-28
Health Psychology Report 2026;14(1):78-91
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Background:
Participation in physical-sporting activities is associated with positive physical, emotional, and social development during adolescence, a critical period characterized by significant biological, cognitive, and social changes. These developmental processes interact dynamically with individual differences in psychological traits and motivational factors, which strongly affect adolescents’ sustained engagement and overall health outcomes through sport.
Participants and procedure:
A sample of adolescents was assessed using validated questionnaires measuring intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, personali-ty traits, and levels of physical activity. Statistical analyses were conducted to examine associations between these variables and to identify gender differences.
Results:
Intrinsic motivation was found to be strongly associated with sports engagement, showing a higher correlation than extrin-sic motivation. Personality traits such as extraversion were positively associated with higher physical activity levels; gender differences emerged in neuroticism and conscientiousness, with females scoring higher in these traits. Adolescents exhibit-ing high intrinsic motivation showed lower neuroticism and greater openness to experience, outlining a characteristic psy-chosocial profile linked to sustained sports participation.
Conclusions:
These findings highlight the importance of integrating both motivation and personality considerations when developing interventions aimed at promoting active and healthy lifestyles in adolescence. Understanding these psychological factors can facilitate the creation of tailored strategies by educators, families, and sports professionals to enhance youth engage-ment and well-being.
Participation in physical-sporting activities is associated with positive physical, emotional, and social development during adolescence, a critical period characterized by significant biological, cognitive, and social changes. These developmental processes interact dynamically with individual differences in psychological traits and motivational factors, which strongly affect adolescents’ sustained engagement and overall health outcomes through sport.
Participants and procedure:
A sample of adolescents was assessed using validated questionnaires measuring intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, personali-ty traits, and levels of physical activity. Statistical analyses were conducted to examine associations between these variables and to identify gender differences.
Results:
Intrinsic motivation was found to be strongly associated with sports engagement, showing a higher correlation than extrin-sic motivation. Personality traits such as extraversion were positively associated with higher physical activity levels; gender differences emerged in neuroticism and conscientiousness, with females scoring higher in these traits. Adolescents exhibit-ing high intrinsic motivation showed lower neuroticism and greater openness to experience, outlining a characteristic psy-chosocial profile linked to sustained sports participation.
Conclusions:
These findings highlight the importance of integrating both motivation and personality considerations when developing interventions aimed at promoting active and healthy lifestyles in adolescence. Understanding these psychological factors can facilitate the creation of tailored strategies by educators, families, and sports professionals to enhance youth engage-ment and well-being.
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