Frequency of personality types based on enneagram in a Turkish sample: A web-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives: Although the Enneagram is known for hundreds of years, research in this area is scarce. The purpose of this study was to analyze the frequency of personality types of a Turkish-‎speaking sample and compare the rates of different personalities with demographic ‎data.‎ Methods: The Tastan Personality Types Inventory, an instrument based on Enneagram, was hosted at Google Forms and made available via the university’s academic web page. Online responses were collected between ‎08.04.2015 ‎and ‎‎22.8.2019. Participants of the study were Turkish speaking people aged adolescents and adults. Results: Results for 1646 participants were analyzed. The mean (±SD) age was 29.48±11.03 years. The most commonly encountered main personality type was number 2, “the helper,” (n=‎335, 20.4‎%), while ‎number 8, “the challenger” was the most frequently encountered personality wing (‎284, 17.3%). The frequency of type 8 ‎personality was decreasing with increasing age, while the reverse was true for type 3 ‎personality (‎χ2=130.623‎, p‎<0.001). While the type 1 personality was more common among males (‎‎n=51‎ (9.5%) vs. n=63‎ (5.7%‎)), the type 4 was almost ‎twice common among females (‎n=‎48 (‎8.9% vs. ‎n=183‎ (16.5‎%)) (‎χ2=28.835, p<0.001). Also, the probability of type 1 personality was increasing as ‎the level of education increased (‎χ2=67.316, p‎<0.001). Conclusion: There are differences in the personality types of the studied population concerning demographic variables. These findings imply that personality is not a lifelong constant entity, but it can change with age and education. Further studies should investigate the relationship of the Enneagram personality types with certain disease entities in defined populations.