Work-related rumination as a mechanism linking neuroticism to mental health among South African professional rugby union players

Background: Professional athletes face unique psychological stressors that may increase their risk of mental health challenges. Neuroticism, a personality trait characterised by emotional instability, has been associated with poor mental health outcomes, potentially through cognitive processes such as work-related rumination. Aim: This study examined the relationship between neuroticism and general mental health, focusing on the mediating roles of work-related rumination in professional rugby union players. Methods: Adopting a cross-sectional study design, male professional rugby union players (N = 120, Mage = 28.06, SD = 3.77) from seven South African rugby unions completed self-report measures including the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, Work-Related Rumination Questionnaire, and General Health Questionnaire-28. Results: Spearman’s rho correlation analyses indicated that neuroticism was significantly and positively associated with affective rumination, and significantly negatively associated with psychological detachment. General mental health was significantly positively associated with both neuroticism and affective rumination, and significantly negatively associated with psychological detachment. Parallel mediation analyses revealed that the effect of neuroticism on mental health is fully mediated through affective rumination (b = .20, 95% CI [.10, .31]), rather than through problem-solving pondering or psychological detachment. Conclusion: The findings indicate that affective rumination is the primary psychological mechanism through which neuroticism exerts a detrimental effect on mental health among professional rugby union players. These results highlight the importance of interventions targeting maladaptive rumination to support the mental health of high-neuroticism professional rugby union players.