Investigating the Association Between Big Five Model of Personality and Hopelessness: A Cross-sectional Investigation on Varsity Male Football Athletes

Similar to physical health, the psychological health of varsity student athletes is of utmost importance as it has the ability to directly impact their overall academic performance and physical well-being. Particularly, personality traits and the feelings of hopelessness might fall among the key psychological factors that may significantly influence their overall quality of life. However, as per our knowledge, to date no past study has been initiated or conducted to investigate the interplay between BFMP and hopelessness among varsity male football players. Therefore, to investigate the association between BFMP and hopelessness among varsity male football players was the main focus of this study. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was employed to investigate the relationship between BFMP and hopelessness among varsity male football athletes. A demographics questionnaire, Hopelessness-Inventory-5 (HI-5) and Big Five Inventory (BFI-10) were employed for gathering data. The results attained from the hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed novel findings. The ANOVA table indicated that the BFMP moderately predicted hopelessness among varsity male football athletes. Whereas, from the BFMP, only the trait agreeableness was substantially negatively associated with hopelessness among varsity male football athletes. This suggested that participants that scored high on agreeableness trait might possess lower hopelessness levels. Utilizing these findings, future researchers, relevant scholars, sports psychologists and coaches may be able to develop specified mental health interventions to counter psychological problems, particularly hopelessness among varsity male football athletes.