Associations between demographic characteristics and Big Five personality traits after anterior cruciate ligament injury: A registry‐based cross‐sectional study
4 affiliations
- 1Sahlgrenska Sports Medicine Center Gothenburg Sweden
- 2Unit of Physiotherapy, Department of Health and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy University of Gothenburg Gothenburg Sweden
- 3Centre of Research on Welfare Health and Sport (CVHI) Halmstad University Halmstad Sweden
- 4Department of Sport Science and Physical Education University of Agder Kristiansand Norway
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between demographic characteristics and personality traits, measured with the Big Five Inventory‐2 (BFI‐2), in patients after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. A secondary exploratory purpose was to compare demographic characteristics across groups defined by predominant personality trait.
Methods: Data for this cross‐sectional study were obtained from a Swedish rehabilitation‐specific registry. Patients aged 15–65 years who completed the Swedish version of the BFI‐2 were included. The five BFI‐2 domains (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, open‐mindedness and negative emotionality) were analysed as continuous outcomes using multivariable linear regression with sex, age at injury or ACL reconstruction, body mass index (BMI), number of ACL injuries and preinjury Tegner activity level as predictors. Predominant personality trait groups were compared in a secondary exploratory analysis.
Results: A total of 782 patients were included, of whom 692 had complete data for the regression analyses. Female sex was associated with higher scores in all five BFI‐2 domains (all p ≤ 0.045). Older age was associated with higher extraversion, conscientiousness and open‐mindedness and lower negative emotionality (all p ≤ 0.006). Higher BMI was associated with lower conscientiousness (p = 0.004) and higher open‐mindedness (p = 0.049). The models explained 2.7%–13.0% of the variance in personality scores. In the secondary analysis, Agreeableness was the most common predominant trait, and patients classified as predominantly open‐minded were older than patients in the other groups.
Conclusions: Sex and age were associated with several BFI‐2 personality traits after ACL injury, whereas BMI showed only small associations. However, demographic characteristics explained little of the variance in personality scores, indicating that personality cannot be reliably inferred from demographic characteristics alone.
Level of Evidence: Level III.
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BibTeX
@article{piussi2026associations,
title = {{Associations between demographic characteristics and Big Five personality traits after anterior cruciate ligament injury: A registry‐based cross‐sectional study}},
author = {Ramana Piussi and Jakob Lindskog and Andreas Ivarsson and Rebecca Hamrin Senorski and Jens Augustsson and Johan Högberg and Axel Sundberg and Eric Hamrin Senorski},
journal = {Journal of Experimental Orthopaedics},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1002/jeo2.70967},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/jeo2.70967},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Associations between demographic characteristics and Big Five personality traits after anterior cruciate ligament injury: A registry‐based cross‐sectional study
AU - Ramana Piussi
AU - Jakob Lindskog
AU - Andreas Ivarsson
AU - Rebecca Hamrin Senorski
AU - Jens Augustsson
AU - Johan Högberg
AU - Axel Sundberg
AU - Eric Hamrin Senorski
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/04
JO - Journal of Experimental Orthopaedics
DO - 10.1002/jeo2.70967
UR - https://doi.org/10.1002/jeo2.70967
AB - Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between demographic characteristics and personality traits, measured with the Big Five Inventory‐2 (BFI‐2), in patients after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. A secondary exploratory purpose was to compare demographic characteristics across groups defined by predominant personality trait. Methods: Data for this cross‐sectional study were obtained from a Swedish rehabilitation‐specific registry. Patients aged 15–65 years who completed the Swedish version of the BFI‐2 were included. The five BFI‐2 domains (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, open‐mindedness and negative emotionality) were analysed as continuous outcomes using multivariable linear regression with sex, age at injury or ACL reconstruction, body mass index (BMI), number of ACL injuries and preinjury Tegner activity level as predictors. Predominant personality trait groups were compared in a secondary exploratory analysis. Results: A total of 782 patients were included, of whom 692 had complete data for the regression analyses. Female sex was associated with higher scores in all five BFI‐2 domains (all p ≤ 0.045). Older age was associated with higher extraversion, conscientiousness and open‐mindedness and lower negative emotionality (all p ≤ 0.006). Higher BMI was associated with lower conscientiousness (p = 0.004) and higher open‐mindedness (p = 0.049). The models explained 2.7%–13.0% of the variance in personality scores. In the secondary analysis, Agreeableness was the most common predominant trait, and patients classified as predominantly open‐minded were older than patients in the other groups. Conclusions: Sex and age were associated with several BFI‐2 personality traits after ACL injury, whereas BMI showed only small associations. However, demographic characteristics explained little of the variance in personality scores, indicating that personality cannot be reliably inferred from demographic characteristics alone. Level of Evidence: Level III.
SN - 2197-1153
ER -