Author(s): VITKOVA, T., RUSNÁKOVÁ, K., MUDRÁK, J., Institution: UNIVERZITA KARLOVA, FAKULTA TELESNE VYCHOVY A SPORTU, Country: CZECH REPUBLIC, Abstract-ID: 1888

Intorduction
Exercise addiction is becoming a recognized concern, particularly prevalent in elite athletic environments where the pursuit of perfection is emphasized. Despite growing awareness of problematic exercise behaviors, research investigating the underlying risk factors remains limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to map the issue of sport addiction in Czech elite sport and to explore the personality correlates of this specific addictive behaviour.
Methods
A sample of 168 competitive athletes, aged 18 to 30 years, completed quantitative online assessments including the Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI), Sport Motivation Scale-6 (SMS-6), the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), Performance Perfectionism Scale-Sport (PPSS), and the neuroticism scale from Big Five Inventory (BFI-N). The participants were recruited from endurance (28.3 %), power (32.7 %), and mixed sports (40.0 %). It was hypothesized that endurance athletes will show greater symptoms of exercise addiction due to the high volume and intensity of training that promotes physical and psychological tolerance, one of the early signs of addiction.
Results
In terms of prevalence, the findings revealed that 16.5 % of athletes exhibited problematic signs of exercise addiction, while 76.7 % were potentially at risk with low severity of symptoms. No significant differences were observed between different groups of sports. Correlation analysis indicated a significant positive relationship of exercise addiction with all variables, with the strongest correlation between addiction and sport identity (r = .52). Using multiple linear regression, the study demonstrated a significant overall effect of personality predictors on exercise addiction. Neuroticism, introjected regulation, and athletic identity were identified as significant predictors of exercise addiction.
Discussion
These findings highlight the importance of psychological factors such as personality traits and motivational regulation in understanding exercise addiction among athletes. The results identified neuroticism, introjected regulation, and athletic identity as risk personality attributes for developing exercise addiction and thus support early screening of at-risk athletes and the possibility of introducing prevention programs in specific sports.

This work was supported by the project : GAUK no. 165023.