Personality traits and positive development in sport: Relationships between the Big Five and the 5Cs in young athletes

The rise of psychological models describing individual differences and positive functioning has raised concerns about the possibility of overlapping constructs. This study examined associations between the Big Five personality traits and the 5Cs model for Positive Youth Development (PYD) in sport, considering the potential conceptual overlap between broad dispositional traits and context-specific developmental indicators. To this end, a sample of 403 young athletes (12–24 years old) completed the Big Five Personality Traits Inventory-2 and the 5Cs Battery for Sport. Structural equation modeling estimated latent associations between traits and dimensions of the 5Cs, and regression analyses tested age as a moderator. The results indicated systematic, but modest, associations. Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism were associated with specific dimensions of the 5Cs. Personality traits explained a limited proportion of the variance in indicators of positive development, suggesting partial convergence without structural redundancy. Age strengthened selected associations involving Conscientiousness and Extraversion. Overall, the findings suggest partial convergence between personality traits and indicators of positive youth development, while also supporting the conceptual specificity of the 5Cs framework within sport contexts.