posted on 2023-05-20, 03:29authored byCook, RH, Griffiths, MD, Halley de Oliveira Miguel Pontes
Despite the increased evidence and acceptance of exercise being classed as a behavioral addiction, there is limited research examining personality characteristics within exercise addicts. The purpose of this study was to examine three personality traits (narcissism, extraversion, and agreeableness) and to examine their role in exercise addiction. The sample comprised 114 voluntary participants (74 females and 40 males) who completed the (i) Exercise Addiction Inventory, (ii) Narcissistic Personality Inventory, and (iii) Ten-Item Personality Inventory, as well as demographic questions and questions concerning their engagement and intensity levels of exercise. Results indicated a low incidence of individuals who were classed as at risk of exercise addiction (7%), but a high incidence of symptomatic individuals (75%). Results suggested that extraversion and narcissism may be underlying factors in exercise addiction with no effect for agreeableness. Exercise engagement and intensity were also related to exercise addiction. Further research examining the relationship between personality types and exercise addiction may be useful in identifying individuals at risk for developing exercise addiction.
History
Publication title
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
Volume
18
Pagination
89-102
ISSN
1557-1874
Department/School
School of Psychological Sciences
Publisher
Springer
Place of publication
United States
Rights statement
Copyright 2018 The Authors. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/