Associations between the Big Five personality traits, testosterone, and cortisol in adolescent male athletes

Testosterone (T) has been conceptualized as a biomarker of individual differences, yet T associations with the Big Five personality traits are inconsistent. Athletes provide a suitable model for evaluation here, as T co-expresses traits related to male-to-male competition and fitness with cortisol (C) playing a moderating role. This study investigated associations between the Big Five traits, T, and C in adolescent male athletes. One hundred and twenty male ice hockey players (aged 14-19 years) were assessed for blood total (T, C) and free (FT, FC) hormones, body-size dimensions (i.e., body mass, height, body mass index [BMI]), the Big Five personality traits (i.e., extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness), and trait anxiety. Correlational and regression (with age and BMI as covariates) analyses identified a positive effect of FT on extraversion, but a negative FT effect on neuroticism and anxiety (