Person-environment fit in the context of sports and its association with subjective well-being

Physical activity and sports participation are positively related to physical and mental health as well as to subjective well-being. Various approaches have been used to explain these associations. In our study, we propose that person-environment fit can partly explain the association between sports and subjective well-being. We examined to what extent the fit between an athlete’s individual personality trait levels and the typical personality trait levels of athletes in their sports discipline (supplementary fit) is associated with different indicators of subjective well-being. In two online surveys, we assessed typical and individual Big Five personality trait levels using the BFI-2-S. In Sample 1, 4,927 athletes of 96 sports rated the typical Big Five trait levels of either male or female athletes of their main sport. In Sample 2, 4,340 athletes of 94 sports rated their own Big Five trait levels and four indicators of subjective well-being: life satisfaction, sports-life satisfaction, positive affect, and First, we derived sport-specific typical Big Five trait levels for male and female athletes of 96 sports. Second, we investigated how variable-oriented supplementary fit in the context of sports is associated with four indicators of subjective well-being (life satisfaction, sports-life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect) using multilevel polynomial regression analyses with subsequent response surface analyses. All analyses were preregistered.We found both similarities and differences in typical Big Five trait levels for male and female athletes of different sports reflecting gender- and sport-specific characteristics of athletes of different sports. Variable-oriented supplementary fit between typical and individual Big Five trait levels was not significantly associated with any of the outcome variables. Variable-oriented supplementary fit between typical and individual Big Five trait levels was not associated with subjective well-being in the broad context of the sports type that athletes are performing.