Temperament and character traits of university students with regard to physical activity level

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine temperament and character traits among university students in terms of physical activity level. Data were collected from college students (n = 177; Mage = 20.57 ± 1.61) in Fall 2016. Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and International Physical Activity Questionnaires (IPAQ) were administered to participants. 83 of participants (46.9%) were grouped as “high level of physical activity group”, 30 of them were grouped as “moderate level of physical activity group” (16.9%) and 64 of them (36.2%) were grouped as “low level of physical activity group” according to IPAQ. The low level of physical activity group had higher scores of novelty seeking, reward dependence, and self-transcendence, and lower scores of persistence compared with the high level of physical activity group. Additionally, there was not a significant difference in terms of temperament and character sub-dimensions between the high and moderate groups. We demonstrated that there have been significant differences, specifically between the low and high level physical activity groups, in terms of temperament and character traits. Further studies are needed to clarify the role of temperament and character traits in physical activity behavior. © 2016, Istanbul Universitesi. All rights reserved.