Background: Previous studies have shown that personality affects creativity, and physical activity and is associated with cognitive function. However, the relationship among physical activity, creativity, and personality remains unclear. This study sought to examine the relationship among personality, physical activity, and creativity to identify relevant risk factors of trait creativity. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the effect of personality (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness) on physical activity, the effect of physical activity on creativity traits.
Methods: A total of 296 university students were recruited for this study. The survey was administered by WeChat. The self-reported questionnaires included questions related to demographic information, creativity (from the Williams Creativity Assessment Packet), the Big Five personality traits, and physical activity. A correlation analysis was conducted and the structural equation models were constructed using SPSSAU.
Results: The SEM analysis showed that openness in personality was positively correlated with physical activity. Physical activity was negatively correlated with curiosity, challenging, risk-taking, and imagination.
Conclusions: Among university students, openness may be a profound positive factor affecting physical activity. Moreover, physical activity was also associated with trait creativity. Consideration should be given to assessing personality traits and physical activity to ensure the selection of more creative students.
Keywords: Personality; physical activity; structural equation modeling (SEM); trait creativity.