Comparison of personality characteristics between athlete and non-athlete students

Aim: The present study aimed to compare personality characteristics between athlete and non- athlete students. Method: The present study is a causal-comparative study. 165 athlete and 170 non- athlete students of Karaj high schools selected through Multi-stage sampling method completed The California Psychological Inventory (Gough, 1990). Results: The results of MANOVA analysis showed that athletes obtained higher scores in Socialization than non-athletes. No difference was observed between the two groups in other subscales. In addition, results revealed significant differences between males and females in Capacity for Status, Sociability, Social Presence, Empathy, Good Impression, Well-Being, Intellectualization, Intellectual Efficiency, Achievement via Conformity, Achievement via Independency and Femininity / Masculinity subscales. Men generally scored higher on these scales than females. Conclusion: It appears that there are no significant relationships between personality characteristics and sport.