A Comparison of Six Personality Factors Between Professional, College, and High School Basketball Players

Abstract

This investigation was concerned with comparing six personality factors among professional, college, and high school basketball players. The different factors measured include competitive trait anxiety, trait self-confidence, concentration, mental preparation skills, achievement motivation levels, and leadership skills. A self-evaluation questionnaire was administered to five basketball teams (two high school, two college, and one professional). Each subject's questionnaire was scored and a Mental Toughness Profile for each athlete was developed. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if there is a difference in personality factors among basketball players at the professional, collegiate, and high school levels. An Analysis Of Variance (ANOVA) was used to determine differences in each of the six personality factors between each of three groups. Also used was a Multiple Comparison Test for the ANOVA. The statistical significance of the results was determined using the .05 level. The results of this investigation indicated that there are personality differences between professional, college, and high school basketball players. A significant difference was demonstrated between all three groups in all the factors except leadership skills. The Multiple Comparison Test revealed that high school and professional basketball players differed significantly in all of the categories except leadership skills. The high school and college players differed significantly only in concentration skills and average scores for the combination of all six subscales. College and professional players differed significantly only in trait self-confidence. One conclusion in this investigation was that the Mental Toughness Profile used was a strong predictor of skill level when comparing professional and high school basketball players.