Personality Profile of Team Handball Referees

Handball is one of the most popular team sports in Germany. Handball referees are an essential component of organised sports, ensuring that games are played in accordance with the rules. They are the third pillar in the network of key players, alongside coaches and athletes. There is, unfortunately, an ongoing decline in the number of referees as fewer people are now willing to take on this role. The shortage of referees has led to serious consequences in some federal associations, resulting in games being cancelled or postponed. Although the new DHB’s digital referee portal has created a modern and motivating training programme, it still fails to take into account one of the most important aspects of refereeing: personal suitability. Districts and clubs responsible for recruiting new referees need to seek new solutions and approaches to increase the visibility of refereeing and make it easier to get involved.
In this respect, personality research plays a crucial role in determining which individuals possess the suitable personal qualities for the profession of a handball referee. To date, there are no empirical studies or reference values on the personality traits of handball referees. However, the results of such studies would be of great importance as they could help candidates assess their personality-related suitability for the job. The objective of this doctoral thesis is to identify critical personality traits of handball referees and create a personality profile of referees of different performance levels. Examining referees at both expert and amateur levels can provide valuable insights into the psychological factors that are required at grassroots level on the one hand and contribute to success or excellence on the other. For this purpose, three studies were conducted, including two quantitative studies and a mixed methods study. The studies involved a total of 745 referees, 89 players, and 35 coaches from the handball community.
The studies conducted as part of this thesis are based on the five-factor model of personality, which is currently the most established model in personality research. The first two studies describe the personality profiles of amateur and expert referees based on self-reports. In addition, the results of the studies are (i) compared with each other and (ii) related to reference values of the German general population. The third study is based on an informant report approach and asks handball players and coaches about the necessary personality traits that a handball referee should possess. This approach
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Abstract
(triangulation of methods) reduces potential biases that may arise from either self-reporting or informant reporting, ensuring a balanced view from multiple perspectives.
My findings indicate that there are no significant differences in the personality traits of amateur and expert referees, except for lower scores in the domain of Extraversion and the facets of Sociability and Energy Level among amateur referees. Additionally, amateur referees scored higher in the facet of Aesthetic Sensitivity. Compared to the German general population, however, handball referees, regardless of their performance level, exhibit significantly higher scores in the facets of Assertiveness, Emotional Stability, and Responsibility. This is also reflected in higher values in the domains of Extraversion and Agreeableness and a lower value in the domain of Negative Emotionality. These results can be confirmed from the perspective of players and coaches. The three most frequently mentioned responses could be assigned to the facets of Assertiveness, Gregariousness (Sociability), and Self-consciousness. At the domain level, the answers mainly fall under the domains of Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism. Responses that could not be assigned to the five-factor model were categorised into four emerging categories: (i) character and leadership, (ii) judgement and decision- making, (iii) game management, and (iv) physical fitness and cognitive demands.
Overall, the results from the three publications reveal the potential for practical fields of application, for instance in referee recruitment and selection or development. At the same time, important questions arise, such as the influence of selection or socialisation effects on the personality of referees. Based on my findings presented in this thesis, I recommend conducting further research on the personality of handball referees, focussing i) on the dynamics of personality with longitudinal studies and ii) on personality constructs besides the five-factor model that have proven to be relevant for refereeing.