Exploring the link between cortisol levels and personality traits among professional athletes Billymo Rist, Anthea C Clarke, Tony Glynn, Alan J. Pearce International Sports Studies 45 No. 1 (2023) https://doi.org/10.30819/iss.45-1.04     pp: 29-41     2023-09-14

Exploring the link between cortisol levels and personality traits among professional athletes

saliva cortisol, personality, elite athlete, psychophysiology, stress Cite: APA    BibTeX

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Abstract
Understanding the association between personality traits and cortisol expression may assist in monitoring and managing mental health in athletes. This study used a singlegroup case study design to quantify the psychophysiological profiles of 26 male athletes from one professional Australian Rules football team (mean age 22.5 ± 4.3 years). Athletes completed salivary cortisol and personality measures. Results showed group mean baseline salivary cortisol levels of 5.7 nmol/L (SD = 3.56) ranging from 1.82 to 9.90 nmol/L. The BFI-10 data showed a mean of 3.92 (SD = 1.1) for the personality variable openness, conscientiousness scoring a mean of 4.73(SD = 1.8), extraversion with a mean of 4.69 with (SD = 1.7), a mean of 4.18(SD = 1.9) for agreeableness, and a mean of 4.42 (SD = 0.9) for neuroticism. However, Pearson's correlation coefficient showed no significant relationship between baseline cortisol and personality variables.