Relationship between chronotype and temperament/character among university students

Abstract

Chronotype is largely classified as being morning or evening types according to preference for daily activity and the preferred bedtime. This study examined the relationship between chronotype and temperament/character dimensions among university students. A total of 2857 participants completed the 140-item Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised Short version (TCI-RS) from a 5-score scale as well as the 13-item composite scale for morningness-eveningness (CSM). In this study, we classified chronotype as “morning,” “neither,” or “evening” types according to CSM scores and compared the scores in terms of 4 temperament dimensions and 3 character dimensions. The evening type showed high values for novelty seeking and harm avoidance, whereas the morning type had high scores for persistence, self-directedness, and cooperativeness. A logistic regression analysis after controlling for age and gender showed that chronotype significantly associated with persistence and novelty seeking. The results of this study suggest that chronotype is different according to gender and age and in addition, chronotype closely correlates with temperament and character. Among these, eveningness was associated with high novelty seeking, whereas morningness was associated with high persistence. Further studies are required to investigate the relationship between chronotype and temperament/character dimensions in a wider age bracket.