Personality traits and exercise dependence: Exploring the role of narcissism and perfectionism

There are currently limited investigations that have examined the relationship between personality traits and exercise dependence. The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationship between exercise dependence, narcissism and perfectionism. Ninety regular exercisers were recruited from various gyms, fitness centres and sporting events to complete the Narcissistic Personality Inventory [Raskin, R. N., & Terry, H. (1988). A principal-components analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and further evidence of its construct validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(5), 890-902], Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale [Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(3), 456-470] and Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised [Symons Down, D., Hausenblas, H. A., & Nigg, C. R. (2004). Factorial validity and psychometric examination of the Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised. Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science, 8(4), 183-201] either online or in person. Exercise dependence was positively related to narcissism, self-orientated perfectionism and socially prescribed perfectionism. Gender differences between these relationships were also found. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that a combination of narcissism and self-orientated perfectionism uniquely predicted a greater degree of exercise dependence. These findings indicate that both narcissism and perfectionism may be important antecedents of exercise dependence, and that a combination of these personality traits is associated with exercise dependence. Future research should continue to determine which personality traits contribute to the personality profile of individuals with exercise dependence.