Personality, Mental Skills, and Aggression among Male Handball Players Competing at the 38th National Games: A Study of Their Interrelationships

Abstract

Athletes' ability to control their emotions, maintain focus, make decisions, and react to the pressures of competition is influenced by psychological traits. This study examined the psychological profile of 40 male handball players aged 18–29 years who participated in the 38th National Games of India, Uttarakhand, with emphasis on personality, mental skills and aggression. A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed using purposive sampling. Personality, aggression and sport-related mental skills were assessed using the Big Five Inventory, Sports Aggression Inventory and Ottawa Mental Skills Assessment Tool (OMSAT-3), respectively. The findings indicated relatively higher openness and agreeableness, moderate-to-high levels of several foundational mental skills, and comparatively stronger confidence and competition planning, while focusing and fear control were relatively lower. Aggression was moderate, with substantial individual variability across psychological characteristics. The findings support individualised psychological skills training rather than uniform interventions. Future research should examine larger and more diverse samples, longitudinal changes, playing-position differences, and associations between psychological characteristics, objective performance indicators and competitive outcomes.