Neurotic Personality and Psychological Symptoms in Athletes: Examining The Relationships on Aggression and Depression

Abstract

The personality of individuals distinguishes them from others in all aspects and encompasses the innate and lifelong process of a person. It also allows us to qualify it as the fundamental element of all actions we take, forming the basis of our behaviors. Personality, which affects the entire life of individuals, is expected to have the same effect on athletes as well. The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of neurotic personality on aggression and depression in athletes. Data collected from 288 active sports participants (96 female, 192 male) were analyzed using the SPSS package program (t-test, ANOVA, Post-Hoc, and regression analysis). In this context, according to the research results, it was concluded that the neurotic personality scores and aggression scores of athletes were similar in terms of gender, sports branches, the situation of receiving psychological help, and the level of sports participation. It was observed that male athletes, team sport participants, and licensed athletes scored higher on depression levels. On the other hand, a positive and low-level relationship was found between neurotic personality and aggression, a negative and moderate-level relationship was found between neurotic personality and depression levels, and a negative and low-level relationship was found between aggression and depression levels. Ethics committee approval was received by the "Atatürk University Rectorate, Faculty of Sports Sciences Dean's Office" with the decision numbered E-70400699-000-2400036256 dated 30.01.2024.

Keywords

• Personality
• Neurotic
• Athlete
• Depression
• Aggression

Sporcularda Nevrotik Kişilik ve Psikolojik Belirtiler: Saldırganlık ve Depresyon Üzerindeki İlişkilerin İncelenmesi

Öz

Bireyi tüm yönleri ile diğerlerinden ayıran kişilik, insanın doğuştan gelen ve hayat boyu devam eden sürecini kapsamaktadır. Aynı zamanda davranışlarımızın temelini oluşturması yaptığımız tüm eylemelerin temel unsuru olarak da nitelendirmemize olanak tanımaktadır. Bireylerin tüm hayatını etkileyen kişilik, sporcularında aynı etkiyi yaratması beklenmektedir. Bu araştırmanın da amacı, sporcularda nevrotik kişiliğin saldırganlık ve depresyon üzerindeki etkilerini incelemektir. Aktif spor yapan 288 katılımcıdan (96 Kadın, 192 Erkek) toplanan veriler SPSS paket programı aracılığı ile analiz (t- testi, ANOVA, Post-Hoc ve regresyon analizi) edildi. Bu bağlamda araştırma sonuçlarına göre; cinsiyet, spor branşları, psikolojik yardım alma durumu ve spor yapma düzeylerine göre sporcuların nevrotik kişilik puanları ve saldırganlık puanlarının birbirine yakın olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Katılımcıların depresyon düzeylerinde ise erkek sporcuların, takım sporu yapanların ve lisanslı sporcuların daha yüksek puan aldıkları görülmüştür. Öte yandan nevrotik kişilik ile saldırganlık arasında pozitif yönde ve düşük düzeyde, nevrotik kişilik ile depresyon düzeyleri arasında negatif yönde ve orta düzeyde, saldırganlık ve depresyon düzeyleri arasında negatif yönde ve düşük düzeyde anlamlı ilişki tespit edilmiştir. Etik kurul onayı “Atatürk Üniversitesi Rektörlüğü Spor Bilimleri Fakültesi Dekanlığı” tarafından 30.01.2024 tarih E-70400699-000-2400036256 sayılı kararı ile alınmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Kişilik
• Nevrotik
• Sporcu
• Depresyon
• Saldırganlık

References

1. Adel, M., Reza, N., & Farideh, S. (2013). The relationship between personality traits and sport performance. European Journal of Experimental Biology, 3 (3), 439-442.
2. Ahles, J. J., Harding, K. A., Mezulis, A. H., & Hudson, M. R. (2015). Sex differences in domain-specific depressogenic cognitive responses to negative and positive life events. Personality and Individual Differences, 76, 198-203.
3. Algur, V. (2019). Üniversite öğrencilerinin anksiyete ve depresyon düzeyleri ile fiziksel saldırganlık, öfke, düşmanlık ve sözel saldırganlık arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesi. İstanbul Gelişim Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü.
4. Altamura, M., Iuso, S., D’Andrea, G., D’Urso, F., Piccininni, C., Angelini, E., Sessa, F., Margaglione, M., Padulo, C., Fairfield, B., (2019). Maladaptive coping strategies and neuroticism mediate the relationship between 5HTT-LPR polymorphisms and symptoms of anxiety in elite athletes. Clin. Neuropsychiatry, 16, 62-71.
5. American Psychiatric Association, DSM-5 Task Force. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5™ (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing.
6. Ballard, M. E., Rattley, K. T., Fleming, W. C. & Kidder-Ashley, P. (2004). School aggression and dispositional aggressionamong middle school boys. Research in middle level. Education Online, 27(1), 1-11.
7. Bhowmik, D., Kumar, K. P. S., Srivastava, S., Paswan,S. & Dutta, A. S. (2012). Depression-symptoms, causes, medications and therapies. The Pharma Innovation, 1(3), 41-55.
8. Borghuis, J., Bleidorn, W., Sijtsma, K., Branje, S., Meeus, W. H. J., & Denissen, J. J. A. (2020). Longitudinal associations between trait neuroticism and negative daily experiences in adolescence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Personality Processes and Individual Differences, 118, 348-363. doi:10.1037/pspp0000233

9. Capaldi, D. M. (1991). Co-occurrence of conduct problems and depressive symptoms in early adolescent boys: I. Familial factors and general adjustment at grade 6. Development and Psychopathology, 3, 277–300. doi:10.1017/S0954579400005319. Capaldi, D. M. (1992). Co-occurrence of conduct problems and depressive symptoms in early adolescent boys: II. A 2-year follow-up at grade 8. Development and Psychopathology, 4, 125–144. doi:10.1017/S0954579400005605.
10. Capaldi, D. M., & Stoolmiller, M. (1999). Co-occurrence of conduct problems and depressive symptoms in early adolescent boys: III. Prediction to young-adult adjustment. Development and Psychopathology, 11, 59–84.
11. Chander, S. (2013). A Comparative study of aggression, neuroticism, extreversion and adjustment am ong track and field athletes of Punjab, International Journal of Research in Economics & Social Sciences (IJRESS), 3(1), 64-77.
12. Cherry, K. (2023). What Are the Big 5 Personality Traits? Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. https://www.verywellmind.com/the-big-five-personality-dimensions-2795422 (Erişim Tarihi: 5 Kasım 2023).
13. Cleverley, K., Szatmari, P., Vaillancourt, T., Boyle, M., & Lipman, E. (2012). Developmental trajectories of physical and indirect aggression from late childhood to adolescence: Sex differences and outcomes in emerging adulthood. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(10), 1037-1051.
14. Creswell, J. W. (2017). Eğitim araştırmaları: Nicel ve nitel araştırmanın planlanması, yürütülmesi ve değerlendirilmesi: Edam.
15. Crick, N. R., Ostrov, J. M., & Werner, N. E. (2006). A longitudinal study of relational aggression, physical aggression, and children’s socialpsychological adjustment. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 34, 127–138. doi:10.1007/s10802-005-9009-4.
16. Culp, A. M., Clyman, M. M., & Culp, R. E. (1995). Adolescent depressed mood, reports of suicide attempts, and asking for help. Adolescence, 30(120), 827-838.
17. Deniz, D., (2007). İşyerinde Örgütsel Yıldırmaya Maruz Kalan Çalışanların Kişilik Yapıları Ve Kullandıkları Ego Savunma Mekanizmaları. İstanbul Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Yayımlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi, İstanbul.
18. Dikici, D. S., Ascibasi, K., & Aydemir, O. (2017). DSM-5 depresyon ölçeği Türkçe formunun geçerliliği ve güvenilirliği. Anadolu Psikiyatri Dergisi, 18(2), 51-56.
19. Dutton, D. G., & Karakanta, C. (2013). Depression as a risk marker for aggression: A critical review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 18(2), 310-319.
20. Erdoğdu, M., Koçyiğit, M., Kayışoğlu, N. B., & Yılmaz, B. (2018). Aggression approaches of young women doing sports in football and futsal branches. International Journal of Cultural and Social Studies (UKSAD), 4(Special Issue 3), 1-14.
21. Fortier, K., Parent, S. & Lessard, G. (2020). Child maltreatment in sport: Smashing the wall of silence: A narrative review of physical, sexual, psychological abuses and neglect. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(1), 4-7. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2018-100224.
22. Fruyt, F. D., McCrae, R. R., Szirmák, Z. & Nagy, J. (2004). The five-factor personality inventory as a measure of the five-factor model: Belgian, American, and Hungarian comparisons with the NEO-PI-R. Assessment. 11(3), 207-215.
23. Glass, R., Prichard, J., Lafortune, A., Schwab, N. (2013). The influence of personality and facebook use on student academic performance. Issues in Information Systems, 14(2), 119-126.
24. Goldberg, L. R. (1981). Language and individual differences: The search for universals in personality lexions. İn: Review of personality and social psychology. L.Wheeler (Ed) 2, Beverly Hills, CA: Erlbaum, 141-165.
25. Guo, W. B., Yao, S. Q., Lu, Y. H., Zhu, X. Z., Wu, D. X. (2003). Study on life events and social support characteristics of patients with depression. Chin. J Men. Health. 17(10), 693-5. doi: CNKI:SUN:ZXWS.0.2003-10-014.
26. Gülnar, B., & Öztat, F. (2021). Depresyon, Kişilik Tipleri ve Yüz Yüze İletişim İlişkisi Türkiye’deki Üniversite Öğrencileri Arasında Bir Alan Araştırması. Global Media Journal: Turkish Edition, 11(22). Güvendi, B. & Keskin, B. (2020). Investigation of aggression and anger behaviors according to perceptions of unethical behavior Perceived by athletes from their trainers. Gaziantep University Journal of Sport Sciences, 5(2), 134-145.
27. Habib, M. B., Waris, S., & Afzal, S. (2019). Personality traits predict in sports performance among University athletes. THE SPARK A HEC Recognized Journal, 4(1), 149-159.
28. Hakulinen, C., Elovainio, M., Pulkki‐Råback, L., Virtanen, M., Kivimäki, M., & Jokela, M. (2015). Personality and depressive symptoms: Individual participant meta‐analysis of 10 cohort studies. Depression and anxiety, 32(7), 461-470.
29. Hankin, B. L, Fraley, R. C. & Abela, J. R. (2005). Daily depression and cognitions about stress. J Pers Soc Psychol, 88(4), 673-85. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.88.4.673.
30. Hirschfeld, R. M. A. (1999). Care of sexually active depressed patients. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 60 (suppl,17), 32-35.
31. Hisli, N. (1988). Beck Depresyon Envanterinin geçerliği üzerine bir çalışma. Psikoloji Dergisi, 6 (22), 118-126.
32. Ingoldsby, E. M., Kohl, G. O., McMahon, R. J., Lengua, L., & Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2006). Conduct problems, depressive symptomatology and their co-occurring presentation in childhood as predictors of adjustment in early adolescence. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 34, 602-620.
33. John, O. P., Donahue, E. M., & Kentle, R. L. (1991). Big five inventory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
34. Karaman, N. G., Doğan, T., & Coban, A. E. (2010). A study to adapt the big five inventory to Turkish. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 2357-2359.
35. Kaya, A. (2019). Genç yetişkinlik dönemindeki bireylerin beş faktörlü kişilik özellikleri ile beden algısı ve yaşam doyumu düzeyleri arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesi. Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü.
36. Klein, D. N., Kotov, R., & Bufferd, S. J. (2011). Personality and depression: explanatory models and review of the evidence. Annual review of clinical psychology, 7, 269-295.
37. Kotov, R., Gamez, W., Schmidt, F., & Watson, D. (2010). Linking “big” personality traits to anxiety, depressive, and substance use disorders: a meta-analysis. Psychological bulletin, 136(5), 768.
38. Köse, B. (2019). Effects of neuroticism and caregiver burden on caregivers' depressive symptoms and well-being: Moderating role of dispositional mindfulness, (Master's thesis, Middle East Technical University, The Graduate School of Social Sciences, The Department of Psychology).
39. Li, Y., He, L., Zhuang, K., Wu, X., Sun, J., Wei, D. ve Qiu, J. (2020). Linking personality types to depressive symptoms: A prospective typology based on neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness. Neuropsychologia. 136. 1-9.
40. Lopez, A., & Santelices, O. (2012). Personality characteristics of elite table tennis athletes of the Philippines: Basis for a proposed recruitment program. International Journal of Table Tennis Sciences, 7, 1-4.
41. Madran, H. A. D. (2012). Buss-Perry saldırganlık ölçeği’nin Türkçe formunun geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması. Türk Psikoloji Dergisi, 24(2), 1-6.
42. Maghsoudi, M., Fatemeh, S. & Fatemeh, A. (2013). Investigating the effect of big five personality traits in Iranian EFL bilingual learners. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 1(4), 26-32.
43. Marwat, M. K., Nizami, R., Muhammad, N., Latif, A., Iqbal, Y., Mehmood, K. & Saman, S. (2022). Aggression and violence in sports, Its effects on sports performance. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(9), 4961-4969.
44. Masten, W. G., Helton, J., Caldwell-Colbert, A., Williams, V., Jerome, W. W., Mosby, L., & Barrios, Y. (2003). Gender differences in depressive symptoms among Mexican adolescents. Anales de psicología.
45. McCrae, R. R. & Allik, J. (2002). The five-factor model of personality across cultures: Springer Science & Business Media.
46. McGhee, R. L., Ehrler, D. J., & Buckhalt, J. A. (2007). FFPI-C: Five-factor Personality Inventory-Children. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
47. Menkü, B., & Coşar, B., (2021). Psikosomatik bozukluklar. Ankara: Türkiye Klinikleri, 32-6.
48. Mezulis, A. H., Funasaki, K. S., Charbonneau, A. M., & Hyde, J. S. (2010). Gender differences in the cognitive vulnerability-stress model of depression in the transition to adolescence. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 34, 501-513.
49. Mohanraj, R., & Subbaiah, K. (2010). Prevalence of depressive symptoms among urban adolescents in South India. Journal of Indian Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 6(2), 33-43.
50. Nagabhushana, D., Rao, B. B., Mamatha, G. P., Annigeri, R., & Raviraj, J. (2004). Stress related oral disorders-A review. Journal of Indian Academy of Oral Medicine and Radiology, 16(3), 197-200.
51. Naseri, T., Pakdaman, Sh., & Asgari, A. (2008). The role of sport and personality traits in psychological development of students. Journal of Iranian Psychologist, 5, 53-62.
52. Nia, M. E., & Besharat, M. A. (2010). Comparison of athletes’ personality characteristics in individual and team sports. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 5, 808-812.
53. Nisar, H., & Srivastava, R. (2018). Fundamental concept of psychosomatic disorders: a review. International Journal of contemporary Medicine surgery and radiology, 3(1), 12-18.
54. Olhert, J., Rau, T., & Allroggen, M. (2019). Association between sexual violence experiences and well-being and risk for depression in elite athletes depends on the context of the incidents. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 13, 311-329.
55. Özdemir, N. & Abakay, U. (2017). Investigation of communication skills and aggression levels of female volleyball and football players. Gaziantep University Journal of Sport Sciences, 2(1), 41-52.
56. Petito, A., Altamura, M., Iuso, S., Padalino, F. A., Sessa, F., & D’Andrea, G. (2016). The relationship between personality traits, the 5HTT Polymorphisms, and the occurrence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in elite athletes, PLoS One, 11(6) 0156601.
57. Piko, B. F., & Fitzpatrick, K. M. (2003). Depressive symptomatology among Hungarian youth: A risk and protective factors approach. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 73(1), 44-54.
58. Piko, B. F., & Pinczés, T. (2014). Impulsivity, depression and aggression among adolescents. Personality and individual differences, 69, 33-37.
59. Piko, B. F., Keresztes, N., & Pluhar, Z. F. (2006). Aggressive behavior and psychosocial health among children. Personality and Individual Differences, 40(5), 885-895.
60. Power, R. A. & Pluess, M. (2015). Heritability estimates of the Big Five personality traits based on common genetic variants. Translation Psychiatry, 5:e604. doi:10.1038/tp.2015.96.
61. Saklofske, D. H., Austin, E. J., Rohr, B. A., & Andrews, J. J. W. (2007). Personality, emotional intelligence and exercise. Journal of Health Psychology, 12, 937-948.
62. Salik, I. & Marwaha, R. (2022). Electroconvulsive Therapy, StatPearls Publishing LLC. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538266/ (Erişim Tarihi: 5 Kasım 2023).
63. Saulsman, L. M., & Page, A. C. (2004). The fivefactor model and personality disorder empirical literature: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 23(8), 1055-1085.
64. Singh, R,. Volner, K.,& Marlowe, D. (2022). Provider Burnout. In: StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538330/ (Erişim Tarihi: 5 Kasım 2023).
65. Steca, P., Abela, J. R. Z., Monzani, D., Greco, A., Hazel, N. A. & Hankin, B. L. (2014). Cognitive Vulnerability to Depressive symptoms in Children: The Protective Role of Self-efficacy Beliefs in a Multi-Wave Longitudinal Study. J Abnorm. Child Psychol, 42(1), 137-48. doi: 10.1007/s10802-013-9765-5.
66. Syer, J. & Connolly, C. (1998). Sporcular İçin Zihinsel Antrenman Rehberi, Çev: F. Umur Erkan, Bağırgan Yayınevi.
67. Yamaguchi, S., Nakamura, M., Noguri, R., & Shibata, N. (2020). Athlete’s mental health and psychological support. Juntendo Medical Journal, 66(1), 78-82.
68. Yıldırım, A. & Abakay, U. (2015). Investigation of the relationship between communication skills and aggression levels of hockey players. İnönü University, Journal of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, 2(1), 17-28.