In this research, we investigated the mediating role of emotion regulation within the relationship between neuroticism and participation motivation. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 261 employees (98 males agerange = 18-60 years) belonging to Iran Oil Company participated and completed questionnaires of big five factors of personality (Costa and McGree, 1989), cognitive emotion regulation (Garnowski and Craig, 2006) and participation motivation (Gill et al., 1983). Data were analyzed by structural equation modeling. The results indicate that neuroticism has indirect effects on participation motivation through adaptive emotion regulation and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. The results suggest that emotion regulation strategies may be a significant mediator in the neuroticism- participation motivation link. One’s difficulty in regulating emotions might be an underlying mechanism through which high neuroticism decreases the participation motivation and health behavior. The study implies that the assessment of emotion regulation strategies should be included in interventional programs aimed at achieving employees’ sport participation.
