Personality and Competitive Anxiety in Athletes: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Introduction: Competitive anxiety is a frequent psychological response among athletes facing performance demands, often impairing concentration, strategy, and physical execution. Personality traits are critical in determining individual responses to such stressors. The Big Five Personality Traits model provides a structured framework to analyze these relationships. This systematic review examined how Big Five personality dimensions influence competitive anxiety in athletes.

Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search was conducted in PubMed and Google Scholar for articles published between 2016 and 2025, using the PICOS framework. Of 17,500 records retrieved, seven studies met the inclusion criteria, requiring participants to be athletes, use of standardized personality and anxiety assessments, and a quantitative design.

Results: All seven studies reported a consistent positive correlation between neuroticism and both cognitive and somatic anxiety. Extraversion showed a negative correlation with anxiety and a positive association with self-confidence. Conscientiousness and openness demonstrated weak negative associations, while agreeableness produced inconsistent findings. Moderating variables such as gender, age, sport type, and emotion regulation strategies further influenced these associations.

Conclusion: Personality significantly shapes competitive anxiety levels in athletes. Tailored psychological interventions that consider personality profiles may help reduce anxiety and enhance performance. Limitations of the included studies were the absence of risk-of-bias assessment and lack of protocol registration.